Poetic Tone Pictures

Dvořák's most substantial piano cycle, Op. 85, B. 161 (1889) — thirteen programmatic character pieces composed at his Vysoká estate. Often called the great forgotten work of the Romantic piano repertoire, it spans over fifty minutes and ranges from nocturnal atmosphere to rustic dance to religious meditation. Dvořák called it 'programme music' and conceived it in the manner of Schumann's character cycles, though 'without sounding Schumannesque'.

The Poetic Tone Pictures demand both technical facility and genuine programmatic imagination. Study the titles: At the Old Castle, Goblins' Dance, At Svatá Hora are not generic 'mood pieces' but specific images drawn from Dvořák's landscape. Each piece should have a distinct sonic world; do not play them as a continuous stream of similar moods.