The Dvořák Society: The Early Years
The Dvořák Society of Great Britain was inaugurated in March 1974. The inaugural meeting took place on Sunday afternoon, 9th March 1974 at the home of the Secretary and Founder, Ian Truffitt. 29 people were present including Dr John Clapham who kindly accepted Chairmanship of the meeting. The stated aims “shall be to educate the public in the arts and sciences, by the presentation of concerts, lectures, and other activities” having been accepted, with the addition of a clause to cover “the obtaining of score or orchestral parts of music by Dvořák.”
The Minutes also state that “it was also decided that the Society should restrict its interests to Dvořák alone rather than incorporating the general body of modern Czech composers such as Janáček, Martinů, Novak and Suk etc **
Good wishes had been received from Josef Suk, The Dvořák Society of Prague and the Smetana-Dvořák-Janáček Society of Japan.
A Committee was formed consisting of Patrons Josef Suk and Dr John Clapham; Secretary – Ian Trufitt; Treasurer – Gordon Dunkerly; Newsletter Editor – Don Droughton; Concert Information – Ian Watt. In addition to these a working committee of seven was elected comprising of the following people – Sonja Burgess, Jon Burgess, Don Droughton, Donald Keys, Raymond Wright, Dr John Clapham, Eric Blackmore (Chairman) and Alan Bassett.
An appeal was launched for three people – 1) someone with musical knowledge of Dvořák to be responsible for tracking down scores etc. 2) someone who is capable of writing out sets of orchestral parts form score where part are unobtainable 3) someone to arrange the importation of records and to investigate the purchase of same at discount prices of the music of Dvořák and other Czech composers.
The Committee then arranged to hold its first meeting on 3rd April 1974 to organise a. Programme and appoint regional representatives.
The programme would initially concentrate on the South, North London, Hertfordshire and East Anglia areas, followed by South Wales where there is a large following.
The first concert was announced to take place on 4th May and would include a live performance of the Dvořák’s Bagatelles, Op. 47. In late May, it was planned to have a recital of piano music by Dvořák. The Society planned to celebrate the anniversary of Dvořák’s birth on Sunday 8th September with a concert in the afternoon devoted to Dvořák’s music. On that same day there was a “Prom” Concert at the Royal Albert Hall including music by Janáček. The early Dvořák Society concerts were memorable, especially those featuring the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Joseph Pilbery. He and his wife Mary (an oboist) were members of the Society.
** There is a footnote to the Minutes of that first Meeting provided by Ian Trufitt.
“I don’t wish to appear at variance with the Newsletter Editor (Donald Droughton) [and author of the Minutes] but I feel I must comment on paragraph 1 in regard to the Inugural Meeting report. In my opinion, we decided to concentrate on Dvořák as a composer, but that, since members would most likely be interested in Czech music as a whole, we should not restrict ourselves solely to Dvořák….”
A Library, Journal and Record Service were eventually established, and a complete catalogue of Dvořák’s works was prepared. Recitals of Czech music and visits to Czechoslovakia were promoted. On a visit to Prague in 1977, two Society members (Ian Watt and Roger Apps) were invited to Prague Castle to receive an official gift from the Czech government of about 100 Supraphon and Panton records for the Society’s library.
The founder of the Society, Ian Trufitt, was tragically killed in a road accident in 1976. An obituary to the founder Ian Trufitt was included in the Society Journal of March 1976. Dvořák’s Requiem Mass was his favourite work. He was a singer and was head choirboy in Sudbury Parish Church in Suffolk. Ian was an accountant by profession. One of his first jobs was at the BBC. He emigrated to New Zealand with his mother in 1965, returning in 1973. He played the trombone in brass bands when he was younger, and conducted bands too. Ian was also a playwright. He won several awards for his plays, including the New Zealand One-Act Playwriting Award in 1971 for A Deal to Judge. Ian spent his last Christmas in Prague in 1975, an experience he loved.
The Dvořák Complete Catalogue of Works (DS Occasional Publication No. 4) complied by Peter Herbert in 2004 bears a dedication to Ian Trufitt.
_”This catalogue is dedicated to the memory of Ian T Trufitt. I never had the chance to meet Mr Trufitt during his tragically short life, but it entirely because of his hard work and
imagination that the Dvořák Society was founded… It was he who produced the first edition of this catalogue. The revision that I have undertaken are my own small tribute to Ian’s work.
During the 1970s and early 1980s many problems including financial, surfaced.
Ian Watt, Editor of the Journal, became Chairman, followed by Gordon Dunkerley. The Journal expanded as did the Society’s lecture programme. Another personnel crisis brewed in the late 1980s. A new Committee was elected in 1987 under the Chairmanship of Graham Melville-Mason.
Graham Melville Mason, the Society’s Patron died in February 2019. Graham would have been 86 on 4th March. Graham had contributed much to the Society over a long period having served as Chairman for 20 years until he stood down in 2007 and acting as Editor of the Society Journal until very recently. His knowledge and love of Czech and Slovak music was unparalleled and his expertise in the field gained him many friends and colleagues across the world.
Publications
The Society has produced Journals for members since it was founded in 1974. In the early days the journal was a quarterly publication which served as a cross between the Newsletter and the Journal. In 1975, the title ZPRÁVA [News]was adopted for the Journal which was later changed to Czech Music in 1978.
In June 1988, the Society produced the first issue of a separate Newsletter, to be produced on a quarterly basis alongside the journal Czech Music which was produced at irregular intervals. Volume 28 of the Journal of Czech and Slovak Music was published in 2019.
Czech & Slovak Music, the Journal of the Dvořák Society, is a more formal and substantial publication than the quarterly Newsletter and is published periodically. The authors of the papers are generally internationally acknowledged experts in their fields. The contents of papers deal with various aspects of Czech and Slovak music and its personalities, performance and performers. The journal also includes authoritative reviews of books and recordings.
Members of the Dvořák Society receive copies of the Journal on publication of each issue. Otherwise, copies of the Journal are lodged with United Kingdom National deposit libraries and certain other municipal and music libraries.
A link to the abstracts of Volumes 8 – 28 of the Journal can be found here and a cumulative index to Czech Music and other society Journals: 1974-1994 here.
In 1999 it was decided to supplement the regular Journals and Newsletter with a series of Occasional Publications. The first such publication featured a biographical sketch and discography of the pianist Rudolf Firkušný. He accepted the position as Vice-President in 1974 and in more recent years became one of the Patrons. There are now 10 Publications in this series, the most recent being “The Western Minstrel, Voyages through the Life and Music of Anthony Philip Heinrich” compiled and edited by Peter Herbert in 2020.
The Society went from strength to strength, with membership reaching a peak of over 700 enrolled members by the year 2000.
Since that peak at the turn of the century, membership numbers have inevitably fallen, partially due to political changes, modern communications, easier travel and increased accessibility to recordings and books produced in the Czech and Slovak Republics which hitherto had been unavailable to members. Currently there are about 350 members with 20 Corporate members (a mix of commercial and non-commercial organisations). We retain links with key Czech and Slovak musical and heritage institutions and have close ties with International Martinů Circle and The Martinů Foundation. Society trips have been organised to Festivals and sites of special interest and a photo gallery of a selection of some of the visits can be found here.
The Society’s Charitable Activities
Past projects include
- Computer Fund to equip the Prague Dvořák Society with equipment to develop a database of resources. (1991)
- A prize of the best performance of a piece by Petr Eben Biarritz Organ Festival (2009).
- Funding of the translation into English of the Dvořák Legacy website created by Ondřej Šupka. ([insert link]
- Support to a recording project of a Pavel Haas CD featuring Fata Morgana amongst others works. (2017)
- Support to a complete recording project on the NAXOS label of Martinů’s compositions for solo piano performed by Giorgio Koukl (2006-9)
Ongoing projects include the Dartington International Summer School Scholarship Fund (awarded annually) which was launched in 1999 to mark the Society’s 25th Anniversary. A Society prize for the biennial Emmy Destinn Singing Competition, Vysoká Restoration Fund (Dvořák’s Summer House) (1994) and more recently the Charles Mackerras Bequest (2017).
A full list of current projects can be found here.
A regular programme of Study Weekends was instigated in 1996 at Burton Manor. A full listing with full details of the past programmes is to be found in the Society archive.
Burton Manor Study Weekends: 1996 – 2009
Burton Manor Adult Residential College in Cheshire held annual study weekends on an aspect of Czech and Slovak music.
Also annual day-time events.
University of Liverpool, Department of Continuing Education: Days of Czech Music 1983 – 2005
The Dvořák Society provided tutors for the following University of Liverpool daytime events, which were linked to concerts by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Other study events can be viewed here.
A Library and Archive was established but eventually, given its expansion, a permanent home had to be found. In 2009 an agreement was made between the Society and Cardiff University, School of Music to house the collection. Unfortunately, the archive remained largely uncatalogued and inaccessible between the years 2009 and 2017. Due to a decision of the University Senate allied with a change of staff and subject orientation, the Collection had to be rehoused. After protracted negotiations it was agreed to move the complete Archive and Collection to Senate House, University of London. This took place in 2017. A selected list of the holdings can be viewed in the Members’ Area.
For a full description of all the current activities visit the About Us page and click on the relevant link.
Founder
Ian T. Trufitt (1939-1976)
Founder Patron
John Clapham (1908-1992)
Past Presidents
Antal Dorati
Sir Charles Mackerras
Jíri Bĕlohlávek
Past Patrons
Petr Eben
Josef Suk
Past Vice-Presidents have included Ludmila Bradová, Jarmil Burghauser, Antonín Dvořák III, Radomil Eliška, Rudolf Firkusný, Jan Hanus, Verá Johnová, Zdenĕk Košler, Karel Mikysa, Ladislav Mokrý, Witold Rowicki, Zuzana Růžičková, Míla Smetáčková, Karel Šejna & Vilém Tauský.
