Cocktail Party Fact: The inspiration for this work came from hearing operetta composer Victor Herbert’s concerto for the same instrument. On seeing the score for the first time, Brahms remarked, “If I had known a work like this for cello and orchestra was possible, I would have written one long ago!”

Commitment Factor: About 35 to 40 minutes

Vital Statistics: Romantic Period (1895) Although written in the standard, three-movement classical concerto form, there are several innovations. When Dvorak reaches the point in the first movement where he should be restating his main themes, he omits the first of them entirely, and cuts directly to the gorgeous second subject, first played by the solo horn. He also gives the piece a taste of his symphonic cyclical form: the opening theme of the first movement comes back, as in a dream, right at the very end.

What to Listen For: This is far and away the greatest Cello Concerto ever written. There are few cases in the musical world where the words “best” or “greatest” are appropriate, but this is certainly one of them. It’s very difficult to write a work for cello and orchestra–the natural range of the instrument is low, and it blends very easily with other instruments. Therefore, the solo part is easily obscured. The fact that Dvorak manages to evade this difficulty entirely, while never making the large orchestra (including trombones and tuba) sound in any way inhibited, is a tremendous achievement. The tunes are also all out of his top drawer. Incidentally, an excerpt from the first movement was the music played during the cello rehearsal scene in “The Witches of Eastwick.”