Antonín Dvořák composed the Cello Concerto in B Minor, op. 104 between 1894 and 1895 while serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York. Although Dvořák had previously believed the cello was unsuitable for a concerto because of balance issues with the orchestra, his views changed after hearing the second cello concerto by Victor Herbert, a composer and cellist who was also working in the United States at the time.
Dvořák wrote the concerto primarily in New York during the winter of 1894–1895. The orchestration was completed in February 1895, and the composer later made revisions after returning to Bohemia. The concerto was dedicated to the Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan, though the premiere was ultimately given by Leo Stern.
The first performance took place on March 19, 1896, in London with the London Philharmonic Society conducted by Dvořák. The work quickly entered the international repertoire and remains one of the most frequently performed cello concertos.
The concerto follows the traditional three-movement structure:
The opening movement is in sonata form and begins with an extended orchestral introduction presenting the principal themes before the solo cello enters.
The second movement includes lyrical thematic material and contains a quotation from Dvořák’s song “Kéž duch můj sám” (Leave Me Alone), op. 82, no. 1. The quotation is associated with Josefina Kaunitzová, Dvořák’s sister-in-law, who was seriously ill during the period of composition.
The final movement combines rondo and sonata-form elements. Near the conclusion of the concerto, Dvořák added an extended reflective section before the final coda after learning of Josefina’s death in May 1895. The concerto is scored for solo cello and orchestra and is frequently performed in recital settings using piano reduction, a practice common in conservatory and recital performance contexts.