Antonín Leopold Dvořák, born on September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves on the Vltava River near Prague, was the first of nine children. At the age of six, he attended the village school, where he received violin lessons from his teacher, Joseph Spitz. Since German was essential in Bohemia, he moved to Zlonice in 1853, where he learned piano and organ from the cantor Anton Liehmann and also began composing.
The son of an innkeeper and butcher was originally destined for a different profession, but at the age of sixteen, he went to Prague to study at the organ school. His musical journey gradually transformed him from an amateur musician into an internationally acclaimed composer.
His artistic development included significant milestones such as a scholarship from Vienna and the resulting friendship with Johannes Brahms, as well as several trips abroad, including to England. In his later years, he initially devoted himself to symphonic poems, producing works such as "The Water Sprite," "The Noon Witch," and "The Wood Dove," before turning exclusively to opera. In 1900, he composed "Rusalka," one of his most famous works.
The Czech Romantic composer suffered from liver disease and cerebral sclerosis and died of a stroke on May 1, 1904, at the age of 63, surrounded by his family. Thousands of people accompanied his funeral procession to the Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague, where he was buried among other prominent figures of the Czech art and music world.