Romance, Op.11

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Originally, this work was the second movement of Dvořák's fifth string quartet (his 1873 opus 9).
Antonín Bennewitz who was a violin teacher at the Prague Conservatory (and would become director there some years later) refused to perform the work because it was not as he thought it should be.

Dvořák felt stepped on his toe and tore the first page of the score and threw it away (there is a very good chance that he had dedicated the work to Bennewitz and that there was a ‘dedication’ on that first page).
The quartet was subsequently never played again during the composer's lifetime, and only published after his death.

But Dvořák immediately reworked the beautiful second movement for violin and orchestra, which then became his Romance opus 11.
He dedicated the work to the then 16-year-old František Ondříček, who would later play the premiere of his violin concerto. Perhaps written with Anna Čermáková in mind, whom he married that year?

The Romance has an enchanting expressiveness, and is very accessible even to less talented violinists.
This masterpiece expresses deep emotions with a flowing melodic line that directly touches the heart.
By becoming patron of this beautiful work, you are helping young violinists have their first intense emotional experience with orchestra!