Besides the famous Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, Dvorák wrote precious little music for solo cello; Dvorák was never especially fond of the instrument (legend has it that his decision to compose a cello concerto was a shock even to him). In fact, there is really just a single original composition for cello beyond the Concerto: the Rondo in G minor, Op. 94 (there was an early sonata, but it has survived only in fragments). The rest of Dvorák's cello pieces, including Silent Woods, B. 182, are arrangements of music originally intended for other instruments. This non-originality has, however, been no hindrance to the fame of a work such as Silent Woods, and it is safe to say that it is today better known in its cello and orchestra (or cello and piano) clothing than it is in its original piano duet garb.

Dvorák composed the piano duets From the Bohemian Forest, B. 133, in 1883-1834; he selected the fifth of that group for arrangement as a solo cello vehicle about ten years later. Silent Woods (whose original Czech title, Klid, might be better translated as "Rest" or "Quiet") is a lovely work, endowed with long and sumptuous melody, tenacious syncopations, and a gently plodding bass line in which we can almost hear Dvorák quietly tramping though the Czech woods. A little flute solo (in the orchestral version, of course) ushers in a more active middle section. The close of the piece is perfectly drawn-out—how can we blame Dvorák for not wanting to end so charming a piece as this?

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