American suite

Antonín Dvořák composed the American Suite, Op. 98b, in 1895, shortly after his tenure as Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. The work came into being in close proximity to major American-influenced compositions such as the Symphony "From the New World" and the American String Quartet, and bears unmistakable traces of his fruitful encounter with the musical culture of North America.

The Suite is distinguished by a characteristic blend of Bohemian folk music tradition and elements that Dvořák had absorbed from African American spirituals and Native American melodies. The musical language is transparent and colorful, the orchestration rewarding and effective without ever becoming ponderous. A dance-like impulse permeates the entire work, which, despite its symphonic scoring, consistently maintains the lightness of chamber music.

As a work of late Czech Romanticism, the American Suite stands as a prime example of Dvořák's ability to fuse national idioms — whether Bohemian or North American in character — into a distinctively personal style with universal appeal. It belongs to the rich legacy of the Romantic orchestral suite of the late nineteenth century, and proves in the concert hall to be as immediately accessible as it is effective with audiences.