Dvorak wrote this enjoyable and unassuming work immediately after the New World Symphony, at the beginning of 1894. It originated as a series of piano pieces, which he orchestrated a year later. It comprises five movements. The first, Andante con moto, is a Czech song with a very warm A section in major and a more agitated B section in minor. The second, Allegretto, reverses the scheme, with agitated outer sections in minor and a more gentle middle section in major. The third, Moderato alla polacca, is a polonaise which contains in its central section, the germ of the Humoresque to be written a year later, back in Europe. The fourth, Andante, is the most pensive and melancholic of the whole suite. The fifth, Allegro, is characterized by phrases of irregular length. A coda based on the initial theme closes the work.

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