Cocktail Party Fact: This early masterpiece earned Dvorak an Austrian government stipend thanks to the advocacy of an awards jury that included Brahms. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two composers.
Commitment Factor: About 40 minutes
Vital Statistics: Romantic Period (1872). This symphony is a highly successful experiment: it contains three movements, the [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: The first set of eight dances (1878) made so much money for Dvorak’s publisher that he nagged the composer into composing the second set in 1886. But the version was not the one for orchestra that we generally hear today: these dances were originally composed for piano (four hands), to be played [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: Dvorak originally intended these works to be played together, and so they were when first performed (in Carnegie Hall, actually). He later broke them up to enjoy life separately under different names, but never repudiated the original concept.
Commitment Factor: About 37 to 40 minutes
Vital Statistics: Romantic Period (1892). Though billed as “overtures,” [...]

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 [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven’s friend and staunchest supporter among the nobility, was also a very decent composer in his own right.
Commitment Factor: About 37 minutes
Vital Statistics: Classical Period (1811). Composed for piano, violin and cello in four movements. Beethoven’s Trios are the greatest written for this combination of instruments, alongside those of Schubert, [...]

Active Years: 1845-1884 (born 1824)
Position: Czech Composer.
Career Highlights: Ma Vlast, The Bartered Bride, the “From My Life” string quartet
Career Totals: Nine operas, nineteen orchestral works, two string quartets, one piano trio, over twenty-five choral works, many piano works.
Scouting Report: Smetana was the first of the great Czech nationalist composers. His six part tone poem, Ma [...]

Active Years: 1865-1904 (born 1841)
Position: Czech composer
Career Highlights: “New World” Symphony, Cello Concerto, Piano Quintet in A, “Dumky” Piano Trio, Rusalka, Stabat Mater, String Quintet in E Flat, “American” string quartet.
Career Totals: 9 Symphonies, 3 concertos, 14 operas, 3 string quintets, 14 string quartets, 2 piano quartets, 2 piano quintets, 6 piano trios, 2 masses, [...]