About this edition
Composed in 1879 in the flush of success that followed the first set of Slavonic Dances, Dvořák's Czech Suite, Op. 39, is a five-movement celebration of Bohemian dance and song cast with the transparency of a serenade. Its scoring deliberately omits trombones and tuba, letting paired woodwinds, four horns, and strings sing in an intimate, open-air voice — from the bagpipe drones of the opening Preludium (Pastorale) through a lilting Polka, a gently swaying Sousedská, a heartfelt Romance carried by solo winds, and a whirling Furiant finale. It is one of the most purely charming orchestral works of Dvořák's early maturity, and a rewarding study in how folk idiom can be raised to symphonic craft.
This volume reproduces the first edition, issued in Berlin by the house of Schlesinger (by then under Robert Lienau), undated but published in 1881 with plate number S. 7377, together with the later reprint of about 1894 bearing plate S. 8518. Dvořák sold the suite to Schlesinger rather than to Fritz Simrock, his principal publisher — a decision that is well documented to have annoyed Simrock — so the work first reached orchestras across Europe through this Berlin score. As the earliest published full score, prepared and printed during the composer's lifetime, it remains a primary reference for the suite's text and an important document of its early reception.
About this edition:
- Complete full orchestral score
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Faithfully reproduced from a public domain source
- Presents the historical first edition (plates S. 7377 and S. 8518)
- Publisher: Purple 4R Publishing
This printing brings a historical public domain score back into practical circulation, making a beloved classic easy to own, study, and conduct. We hope it serves conductors, players, students, and scholars alike for many rehearsals to come.
