Antonin Dvorak came to New York City in 1892 to become the Director of the National Conservatory of Music. There, he met the school’s cello professor, Victor Herbert. They became friends and worked together on several projects and recitals. Herbert later left the school to conduct the Regimental Band of the New York National Guard, play some cello concerts, and finish composing his second Cello Concerto, which he was writing for the New York Philharmonic.  Dvorak attended the concert in 1894 when Herbert gave the premiere of his new concerto—and he went backstage and congratulated Herbert. 

Hearing Herbert’s concerto may have jogged Dvorak’s memory: thirty years earlier, he had begun his own cello concerto at the request of a Czech friend, the cellist Hanus Wihan, but had set it aside. In New York, Dvorak began writing anew—expressing his longing for his homeland and, according to some, his desire for his sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzova, his first love interest and possibly the great love of his life. The Cello Concerto premiered in March 1896 in London, with Dvorak himself conducting the London Philharmonic. Although he dedicated the concerto to his friend, English cellist Leo Stern was the soloist. 

From the start of the work, its drama is apparent. The concerto opens with a lengthy orchestral introduction before the cello enters with a dramatic, almost improvisatory-sounding statement. When Dvorak was composing the Adagio that follows, he reportedly received a letter from Josefina in which she shared that her health was deteriorating. The stormy episode that erupts in the middle of the movement—and then gives way to a quotation from her favorite of his songs (Leave me alone in my fond dream)—is often said to mirror his reaction to the news.  

After completing the energetic rondo with which the concerto ends, Dvorak returned home—and shortly after that, Josefina passed away. Just before the concerto’s end, Dvorak inserted a short, exquisitely lyrical passage in memoriam, quoting her favorite song once again in the violin.