The loving passions that have moved man since the dawn of time have the most picturesque results. The rejection of the loved one is difficult to digest and evokes reactions of a very diverse nature. Music history is full of composers who have endured the definitive rejection of idealized young women as “the woman of his life” and who tried to soften it by marrying their sisters.
This kind of marriage strategy in order not to lose touch with platonic love was shared by musicians like Haydn, Mozart or Dvorak of unequal fortune. The scars of the heart are forever and reinforcing a bond that was flawed from the beginning usually causes misery to all involved.
Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) was a poor teenager who played the viola at the Provisional Theater in Prague and fell in love with Josefina Cermáková, a young, seventeen-year-old actress who performed successfully on that stage. Mr. Cermak, the girl’s father and a wealthy jeweler in town, hired him as a piano teacher for his daughters so that he could have his desired lady very close.
However, Antonin was unable to express his feelings given the different social status between the two and decided to confess his love to Josefina by composing the cycle of songs entitled “Cypreses”. The actress was a successful woman in the theater and showed no interest in a hitherto unknown musician. Dvorak changed his mind and turned his affections towards Anna, the younger sister whom he also taught.
Antonin and Anna were married in November 1873, and four years later Dvorak would be godfather to Josephine’s marriage to Count Kounic. Since then, the two couples lived together for seasons in the same Vysoká house, owned by the Count, without relationship problems or reasons for jealousy. Dvorak’s social status had changed and he was already a recognized composer. Josephine was diagnosed with a progressive and incurable disease in 1882 and five years later Dvorak composed the cycle “Four songs” opus 82 and showed her sister-in-law a special fondness for the piece “Kez duch muj san” (“Leave me alone””) .
At the end of his three-year academic residency at the New York Conservatory, Antonin wrote the last bars of the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra opus 104. It was then that he foresaw the end of Josefina and added a variation of her favorite theme to the second part of the concerto and decides to return with the family to his native Bohemia. A month later, the love of his life passed away.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
