About the Dvořák Society
Page last updated 11 May 2008
Founded in 1974, the Dvořák Society, is one of the most active music societies in Britain. Though it is firmly based in Great Britain, it has members in many countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States.
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What the Dvořák Society does
The Society promotes interest in and encourages performances of music by all Czech and Slovak composers and artists, past and present, in this country and elsewhere, and publishes articles and information about all aspects of Czech and Slovak musical life. The Society’s services and publications are widely respected.
There is more to Dvořák than the New World; more to Smetana than the Bartered Bride and Vltava; more to Janáček than Jenůfa; more to Fibich than Poeme. Czech and Slovak composers like Biber, Zelenka, Mysliveček, Stamic, Hummel and Rejcha, have been at the forefront of musical development for centuries. In this introduction, we do not have enough space to list all our activities in this respect but just a few examples are —
• the course Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů – Who came next after the Great Four? recently given at Burton Manor by our Chairman. This addressed the often asked question “What about other Czeck (or Slovak) music in the C20th?” by linking with Fibich at 1900. It examined the life and attractive music of Suk, who died seventy years ago, then moved to his contemporaries and pupils such as Novák, Slavický, Hanuš, Kalabis and Fišer, up to the internationally better known Petr Eben. Important and fascinating figures from Slovak music, such as Moyzes, Suchoň and Cikker, were also included
• our efforts to achieve a realistic reappraisal of the works of Martinů
• the interest shown in the work of Czech and Slovak composers of the classical era—for example, Mysliveček—whose artistic reputations have been in the shadows of Haydn and Mozart
• the attention given to the suppressed music of the 20th century Czech composers who perished in Terezín and elsewhere: Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein, Hans Krása, Erwin Schulhoff (who was known personally to our late president, the eminent conductor and composer Vilém Tauský) and Viktor Ullmann
Sylvie Bodorová (right),
Pavel Fischer & Jana Lukášová
(Škampa Quartet)
(photo Arco Diva Management)
• the promotion of interest in living Czech and Slovak composers, for example Sylvie Bodorová. She was born in Slovakia and studied in Bratislava, Brno (at the Janáček Academy) and Prague (Music Academy), in Siena (with Franco Donatoni at the Academia Chigiana) and in Amsterdam (with Ton de Leeuw).
Our commitment to Czech and Slovak music was demonstrated by the successful completion of an international appeal for funds for the purchase of a computer systems for the Dvořák Society in Prague where they are creating a complete database of information on all aspects of the composer’s life and music.
Mysliveček Family Mill, Prague
(now the Smetana Museum)
The success of this appeal has encouraged the Society to follow it with a major appeal for the restoration of Dvořák's summer home, the Villa Rusalka, at Vysoká, which is an ongoing project.
More recently we have initiated appeals to set up a scholarship fund to enable a Czech or Slovak student to attend The Dartington Summer school and we are have appealed for funds to provide assistance in recovering and restoring music and instruments lost or damaged in the devastating floods of 2002.
The Society has no political connections. It is devoted solely to musical objectives. It is a UK Registered Charity (Reg No 267336). View the Dvořák Society’s credentials at the UK Charity Commission.
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Membership of the Dvořák Society
You do not need to have a deep technical knowledge of music to enjoy and benefit from membership of the Dvořák Society. Our members come from all walks of life, including many non-musicians as well as professional and amateur musicians. They range from ordinary music lovers to internationally acknowledged experts. The one thing we all have is a love of Czech and Slovak music.
One of Martinů’s cartoons
of himself at the piano
There is no obligation on members to take an active role in the Society’s events and activities. The level of involvement is left to the individual.
If you would like to know more about us, please use the ‘Navigation’ links at the top left of this page to guide you. Should you wish to ask a specific question the Society’s Contact Points are listed below.
Join the Dvořák Society and share in our joy of the exploration of one of the world's most musical nations. Full details in membership information.
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The Society’s Officers
Chairman —
Annette Percy
21 Clissold Court
Greenway Close
London
N4 2EZ
United Kingdom
e-mail: chairman@dvorak-society.org
Secretary —
David Roberts
13 Church Lane
Knutton
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Staffordshire
ST5 6DU
United Kingdom
e-mail: secretary@dvorak-society.org
Treasurer —
Gordon Watts
8 Astley House
42 Trinity Church Road
Barnes
London
SW13 8EA
United Kingdom
e-mail: treasurer@dvorak-society.org
Tel: 020 8563 1706 (outside the UK +44 20 8563 1706)
Membership Secretary —
Tony Pook
1 Lower Friargate
York YO1 9SL
UK
e-mail: membership@dvorak-society.org
Telelephone 01904 642407 (+44 1904 642407)
Corporate Membership Secretary —
Richard Beith
14 Middlecroft
Guilden Sutton
Chester, CH3 7HF
UK
e-mail: richard@rbeith.demon.co.uk
Telephone 01244 300777 (+44 1244 300777)
Contact Points
- Musicological questions and journal material —
Graham Melville-Mason
e-mail: graham.melvillemason@yahoo.co.uk - Hon Secretary —
David Roberts
e-mail: secretary@dvorak-society.org - Membership questions —
Tony Pook (Membership Secretary)
e-mail: membership@dvorak-society.org - Corporate membership questions —
Richard Beith (Corporate Membership Secretary)
e-mail: richard@rbeith.demon.co.uk - Library service —
The contents of the Dvořák Society Library will in future be held at Cardiff University
→ click here for further details - Sales of publications and other items —
David Banister
e-mail: sales@dvorak-society.org - Record service —
Bill Marsden (Record Service Administrator)
e-mail: billandvera@btinternet.com - Web page —
Ray Latham
e-mail: webmaster@dvorak-society.org