This date in 1841 was the birthdate of Antonin Dvořák, Czech composer. 10 facts about him:
In case you’re wondering how to pronounce his name, it’s 'Devor-jacques'.
He was born in a village called Nelahozeves, which was at the time part of the Austrian Empire and today part of the Czech Republic. He was the oldest of 14 children.
His father was an innkeeper and a butcher, who also played the zither to supplement the family’s income. Hence the young Dvořák was influenced by Music from an early age. He learned to play the Violin at primary school.
It was expected, at first, that he’d become an innkeeper and butcher like his dad, but people noticed his exceptional musical talent. When he was 12, he went to live with an aunt and uncle in Zlonice, where he studied harmony, Piano, and organ, and began writing music. His earliest works were polkas. In 1857 his music teacher realised that he couldn’t teach the talented young Antonín any more, and persuaded his father to enrol him at the Institute for Church Music in Prague.
While studying, he needed an income and so became a music teacher himself. Among his students were two sisters called Josefina and Anna Čermáková. Dvořák fell in love with Josefina, but she wasn’t interested. Some believe that his songs set to music, Cypresses (1865), was inspired by his unrequited love for his student. Eventually, in 1873, Dvořák married the younger sister, Anna.
He owes his fame to Brahms, who spotted him when Brahms was a judge at the Austrian State Stipend for composers. In 1877, Brahms' suggested to the publisher Simrock that it would be a good idea to commission Dvořák to write some Slavonic Dances for piano duet. The sheet music for these sold out on the day they were published.
Dvořák’s career involved a lot of travel. He visited England 10 times and was made an honorary doctor of music of Cambridge University. He was offered a lucrative gig in New York as well: a salary of $15,000 – 25 times what he was paid in Prague, about £500,000 in today's money, to do a little conducting and teaching. Needless to say, he couldn’t say no to that and went to America for a while. While there, he developed an interest in Native American and African-American spiritual music, likely an influence on his most famous work, the New World Symphony, which was composed during his stay.
Brits will recognise part of the symphony from the 1973 advert for Hovis. It has been listened to all over the world, and out of it. Astronaut Neil Armstrong took a tape of it to the Moon in 1969.
When he wasn’t composing or playing music, Dvořák was a bit of a train nerd. When he was a child, a railway line was built near Nelahozeves. He watched it being built and developed a passion for trains. When he was travelling to Prague and Vienna, he would meticulously record the details of all his train journeys, and his habitual morning walk would take in the path over the tunnel where the trains to and from Prague’s main station would pass. The Franz Josef railway station in Prague was one of his happy places – he’d spend hours there. It’s said he knew the timetable by heart. He even went so far as to ask his students to tell him all about any train journeys they’d been on. When he went to America, his interest expanded to include steam ships as well.
Dvořák died at the age of 62 after catching the flu and being ill for six weeks. The actual cause of his death isn’t known. He left behind many unfinished works.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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