Upon the success of Dvorák's first set of Slavonic Dances, in 1878, the publisher Simrock began agitating for more. But Dvorák was by then working on large, serious compositions, symphonies, and oratorios, and he was unwilling to take a break to crank out another series of short, light pieces. Besides, Dvorák, admitted, he was afraid he might not duplicate his earlier success. "To do the same thing twice is devilishly difficult," he wrote. Simrock persisted, and Dvorák snapped, "One can start only when one feels the proper enthusiasm for the thing!" The composer finally began to develop some enthusiasm by the middle of 1886, and in the course of little more than a month he completed a second volume of dances for piano four-hands.

Since he'd written the first set, Dvorák had gained eight years of experience. This new collection was less ebullient than the first, but more varied and sophisticated. Furthermore, whereas the first set limited its sources of inspiration to Bohemian folk music (though without quoting any traditional melodies), the sequel was more pan-Slavonic. For his trouble, Dvorák was paid 10 times what he'd gotten for the earlier set.

No. 1 in B major (Molto vivace) is an odzemek, a 2/4 dance supposedly favored by brigands in the mountains of Slovakia and Moravia. Instead of having it grow increasingly fast in the traditional manner, though, Dvorák here alternates fast and slow sections. No. 2 in E minor (Allegretto grazioso) and No. 4 in D flat major (Allegretto grazioso) are examples of the dumka, originally a Ukrainian dance taken to heart in Bohemia, alternating slow, even mournful passages with lively, hectic music. No. 3 in F major (Allegro) is a skocná, or "jumping dance."

No. 5 in B flat minor (Poco adagio) is a spacírka, which is derived from a German word meaning to walk; it originated as a sung round dance that gradually increases its speed. No. 6 in B flat major (Moderato) is a Polish mazurka in triple time with a strong accent on the second or third beat. No. 7 in C major (Presto) is a kolo, a chain dance popular among Balkan Slavs. The final piece, No. 8 in A flat major (Lento grazioso, quasi tempo di valse) is a sousedka, or "neighbors' dance," a slow piece designed for older villagers. In 1887 Simrock brought out this set and its predecessor in Dvorák's own brilliant orchestrations, with the same opus numbers, keys, and order.

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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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7.Presto 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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