Gala with Dvořák Serenades

At the end of 1877, Dvořák attended a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at which Mozart's Serenade in B flat major for wind instruments was performed. He was so impressed that immediately after his return to Prague he composed a piece of the same musical form. Dvořák created a unique work, completely different in its overall expression from the original Mozartian source of inspiration. The wind serenade is entirely Czech in character and refers to the tradition of former musical productions in Czech castle residences. It is a work that represents an ingenious synthesis of ̶0;retro” style and typically Dvořák imagination.

The Serenade in E major is one of the composer's most popular and most frequently performed compositions. Composed in the spring of 1875, its atmosphere reflects the composer's happy period in his life – hence the music's idyllic and carefree feel, its rich imagination and its testament to the composer's genius for small forms.