The two series of "Slavonic Dances" are among Antonín Dvorák's most famous compositions. The first eight dances under "Opus 46" were composed in 1878, initially for piano four hands. The symphonic structure, its rhythm and the intensity of its expression, however, literally called for instrumentation.

Dvorák's composition was not based on the music of original dance songs, but on the rhythm of these models - he chose characteristic types of Bohemian dances such as the Sousedská, the Polka, th...