Antonín Dvorák

In the ‘Song to the Moon’ the fusion of words and music is so fluid it seems entirely natural

Does Dvorák need any special advocacy? Surely he’s about as ‘canonic’ as it gets. At least three of his symphonies, his Cello Concerto, the opera Rusalka and several of his chamber works are unshakeable favourites. The recent revamping of a hugely popular TV commercial for an iconic brand of bread has ensured that the cor anglais melody from his From the New World Symphony is one of the few classical themes known way beyond the concert hall. Yet, while the rest of Dvorák’s huge output is marginalised, the very popularity of those favourites has the effect of obscuring their beauty and originality for those who think of themselves as cognoscenti. And the old prejudice still prevails: can anything that popular really be that good?

In Dvorák’s case, this kind of thinking prevents a lot of people