Antonín Leopold Dvořák (/ˈdvɔːr.ʒɑːk/ DVOR-zhahk or /dᵻ.ˈvɔːr.ʒæk/ di-VOR-zhak; Czech: [ˈantoɲiːn ˈlɛopolt ˈdvor̝aːk]; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. After Bedřich Smetana, he was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition. Following Smetana's nationalist example, Dvořák frequently employed aspects, specifically rhythms, of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style has been described as ‘the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them’.
Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being an apt student of violin playing from age six. The first public performances of his works were in Prague in 1872 and, with special success, in 1873, when he was age 31. Seeking recognition beyond the Prague area, he first submitted a score of his First Symphony to a prize competition in Germany, but he did not win, and the manuscript, not returned, was lost until rediscovered many years later. Then in 1874 he first made a submission for the Austrian State Prize for Composition, including scores of two further symphonies and other works. Brahms, unbeknownst to Dvořák, was the leading member of the jury and was highly impressed. The prize was awarded to Dvořák for 1874 and again in 1876 and in 1877, when Brahms and the prominent critic Eduard Hanslick, also a member of the jury, made themselves known to him. Brahms recommended Dvořák to his publisher, Simrock, who soon afterward commissioned what became the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46. These were highly praised by the Berlin music critic Louis Ehlert in 1878, the sheet music (of the original piano 4-hands version) had excellent sales, and Dvořák’s international reputation at last was launched.
Drawing a collective breath
I could cry myself to death
And wash this all away
In a flash, you were gone
Leaving me a couple of songs
That I listen to everyday
And I don't even care
That you were so unfair
I worshiped one time at your feet
Save up our tears
Catalogue all our fears
Give into the stretching years
Your words hit me just last night
When I saw it with the after sight
What was on your mind
It's too late to ever change
Things got a little bit strange
You were too far behind
And the reasons I have to live
Are the reasons that you would give
To throw it all away
Save an' freeze up our tears
Catalogue all our fears
Give into the stretching years
But that's okay
But that's okay.
An' I don't even care
That you were so unfair
I worshiped one time at your feet
Never heard what was said
All nerve ends are dead
Tinnitus ringin' in my head
Save an' freeze up our tears
Catalogue all our fears
Give into the stretching years
Drown in my tears
Succumb to my fears
Give into the stretching years
But that's okay
But that's okay
But that's okay.
I'm not okay.
But that's okay
I'm not okay
But that's okay