Dvořák: Drobnosti, Op.75a, for two violins and viola (1887)

Cavatina:- Moderato
Capriccio:- Poco allegro
Romanza:- Allegro
Elegia:- Larghetto

For many music lovers the true personality of Dvořák is enshrined less in his large-scale symphonic works, but rather in those where either he allows his deep-rooted Czech temperament to come to the fore (as in the famous Slavonic Dances), or in certain more intimate chamber works which even betray a whiff of the homespun. Into the latter category would be placed the wonderful Bagatelles(Maličkosti), Op.47, for the decidedly homely combination of two violins, cello, and harmonium; or Cypřiše (Cypresses) for string quartet; and most certainly this hauntingly beautiful set of “Miniatures”, composed a few months before Cypřiše, in January 1887. In fact, he had only just completed a rather more ambitious piece for this unusual combination –the Terzetto, Op.74, which he wrote specially for the enjoyment of himself and two violinist friends, Jan Pelikán, and his pupil Josef Kruis. However, poor Kruis was not up to the technical demands imposed on him, so the kindly composer immediately produced something a little easier –although the second violin part of the new work suggests that he cannot have been that incapable a player.

This time the results pleased everyone, especially himself! In a letter to his publisher, Simrock, he announced, “I am now writing small bagatelles for two violins and viola, and am enjoying myself every bit as much as if I were engaged in writing a large-scale symphony…” In fact he was so pleased with the result that he immediately made an arrangement of his Miniatures, for violin and piano, and renamed them “Romantic Pieces”, which were then immediately published in Berlin as Op.75. Since Drobnosti had to wait half a century for their first public performance (in 1938), and a further seven years to appear in print, it has often been assumed that the violin and piano version was the original. But the resourcefulness and imagination which has been so lovingly bestowed on these pieces speaks for itself, in whichever combination they are heard. The late 1880s was a hugely creative period of Dvořák’s life, with such notable works as the above mentioned Slavonic Dances, Seventh Symphony, Piano Quintet, and the opera Jakobín. His reputation was higher than ever before and he must have felt secure in his success. The varied moods of these miniatures demonstrate the intensely fertile imagination and secure craftsmanship which allowed Dvořák to produce beautiful and often searching lyricism, originating from his profound attachment to Czech folklore and fantasy.

© Alan George (co-written by Lucy Russell)
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