After the great success of his Slavonic Dances Op.46, the publisher Simrock asked Dvorak to write a second set. The composer had felt abused by the publisher, who paid him no fee for his first published work, the Moravian Duets, and Dvorak made him wait until 1886 for the follow up set. His composing method was the same as with the Op.46 i.e. he wrote his own tunes on the basis of regional rhythms, but there are perceivable differences between them. The second set is more varied in terms of rhythms, there is greater thematic richness, more freedom in the formal treatment and brighter orchestration. Again, there are eight dances in the set. The first, Molto vivace, is an unusual rhythm called odzenek, a shepherds' dance. The second, Allegretto grazioso, perhaps the most beautiful of the set, is a sort of polonaise called starodávný. The third, Allegro, is a skocná . The fourth, Allegretto grazioso, is a dumka. The fifth, Poco adagio, is a spacírka. The sixth, Moderato, quasi minuetto, is another starodávný. The seventh, Allegro vivace, one of the most exuberant and well known of the set, is a serbo-croat rhythm called kolo. The last, Grazioso e lento, ma non troppo, quasi tempo di valse, is an intensely melancholic sousedská.

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1.Molto vivace in B

The first book of Slavonic Dances made Dvorák well known throughout Europe shortly after its 1879 premiere. His publisher, Simrock, profited handsomely from sales of the piano duet version of the score, though Dvorák was paid a relative pittance. By 1886, the composer had garnered much prestige and when Simrock pressed him for a second book of Slavonic Dances, Dvorák asked for and received a quite generous fee. This B major effort is the second book's first number. Its form is an unusual one, an odzemek, a spirited dance originating in Slovakia. The music here, however, is quite Czech-sounding and folk-like, but its themes are Dvorák's own. While many of the dances in the second book have greater depth than those in the first, this B major effort is quite light and conceived in much the same spirit as the earlier ones. It opens with a rollicking celebratory theme whose manner at times borders on the bombastic. The middle section offers needed contrast in its subdued manner and sense of pastoral serenity. The main theme and its accompanying materials return for a colorful and rousing close. This work typically has a duration of about four minutes.

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2.Allegretto grazioso in E-

After the great success of his Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, the publisher Simrock asked Dvorák to write a second set. The composer had felt abused by the publisher, who paid him no fee for his first published work, the Moravian Duets, and Dvorák made him wait until 1886 for the follow-up set. His composing method was the same as with the Op. 46 (i.e., he wrote his own tunes on the basis of regional rhythms, but there are perceivable differences between them). The second set is more varied in terms of rhythms; there is greater thematic richness, more freedom in the formal treatment, and brighter orchestration. Again, there are eight dances in the set. The first, Molto vivace, is an unusual rhythm called odzenek, a shepherds' dance. The second, Allegretto grazioso, perhaps the most beautiful of the set, is a sort of polonaise called starodávný. The third, Allegro, is a skocná. The fourth, Allegretto grazioso, is a dumka. The fifth, Poco adagio, is a spacírka. The sixth, Moderato, quasi minuetto, is another starodávný. The seventh, Allegro vivace, one of the most exuberant and well known of the set, is a serbo-croat rhythm called kolo. The last, Grazioso e lento, ma non troppo, quasi tempo di valse, is an intensely melancholic sousedská.

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4.Allegretto grazioso in Db

By the time Dvorák wrote the second book of Slavonic Dances in 1886, he was one of the most respected composers in Europe, having recently turned out such classics as his Symphony No. 7, the Scherzo Capriccioso, and the Piano Trio in F minor. But it was the first book of Slavonic Dances in 1878 that established his reputation, though the second set is generally thought the better of the two for its greater depth and expressive range. The D flat major No. 12, in many ways, typifies the strengths of the later set. Dvorák uses a dumka here, a dance form of Ukranian origin and one of his favorites, having employed it rather famously in the finale of his Op. 90 piano trio, as well as in No. 10 in this set. Moderately paced, this D flat major dance opens with a lovely, mellow theme introduced by the clarinet. There is something wistful in its warmth and sunny manner, though the strings impart greater brightness when they take it up. The middle section is more animated, as is typical of most dumkas. Here, the music skips along in a carefree manner, but soon yields back to the main theme for a brief reprise to close out this approximately five-minute masterwork.

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7.Allegro vivace in C

The two books of Slavonic Dances, each consisting of eight works, were written at the behest of Dvorák's publisher Simrock, who hungered to repeat the success he had enjoyed with the first two volumes of Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Dvorák did not let him down, and while the Brahms' works served as a sort of inspirational springboard, he approached the folk idiom in his own unique way. For one thing, Dvorák did not use folk themes, nor did he derive the dance forms from one of two ethnic sources. He did, however, mold the music to sound folk-like and very Czech in character. This C major effort exhibits those features and employs a dance form, the kolo, that has origins in Serbia. The work opens with a lively, boisterous theme whose celebratory manner conjures images of peasant festivity and merriment. The music has an almost frenzied character here, but is soon tempered by the less driven, rather carefree style of the middle section. The main theme, showing no loss of its opening vigor or high spirits, returns to close out the work in colorful style. This dance typically has a duration of three minutes.

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8.Grazioso e lento in Ab

If the first book of Slavonic Dances established Dvorák as one of the leading European composers of his day, then the second and final book solidified it and provided him with a substantial monetary return, actually about ten times more than the paltry sum he had earned from the initial book. This A flat major effort is the closing and longest work in the Op. 72 set. It shares a kinship with two works in the first volume, Nos. 4 and 6, in that all three use the Czech dance form sousedská, a waltz-like number of moderate or even slow tempos with roots traceable to the Austrian Ländler. No. 16 here opens with a carefree theme whose lyrical, almost Brahmsian warmth has a slight wistfulness about it. Any sense of melancholy is dispelled, however, when the sunny but brief second subject appears with its brighter, livelier music. The middle section features a mellow, dreamy theme whose invigorating second half imparts, if only fleetingly, a sense of high spirits. The main theme returns, but bypasses its second subject in favor of a more serene conclusion. This work, one of the finest in either book of Slavonic Dances, has a duration of about six-and-a-half minutes.

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