Celebrating Antonín Dvořák’s 185th Birthday
A Musical Tribute in Stuyvesant Square Park
Sunday, September 13 • 2:00 p.m.
Rain date: Sunday, September 27 • 2:00 p.m.
Location: East Park, near the Antonín Dvořák statue
Stuyvesant Square Park
Free
Celebrate the 185th birthday of Antonín Dvořák with a festive afternoon of music and neighborhood history beside the composer’s statue in Stuyvesant Square Park.
Presented by the Dvořák American Heritage Association (DAHA) in collaboration with the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association (SPNA), and with support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), this special open-air program will feature Dvořák’s Serenade in D minor for Winds, Violoncello, and Contrabass, Op. 44, performed by members of the community chamber orchestra Camerata Notturna, under the direction of Carl C. Bettendorf.
DAHA president and founding member Susan Lucak will open the program with remarks about Dvořák’s influential New York residency in the Stuyvesant Square neighborhood, from 1892 to 1895, and his enduring American legacy.
Dvořák’s years in New York marked one of the most consequential periods of his career. Today, his connection to the neighborhood is commemorated by the statue that stands in the East Park—a fitting setting for hearing his music performed live. The concert also falls on the 29th anniversary of the statue’s September 13, 1997, dedication, which followed a years-long effort by DAHA, with support from SPNA, to bring the monument to Stuyvesant Square Park.
Join us for this celebration of one of our neighborhood’s most remarkable cultural connections and experience Dvořák’s music in a place that remains closely tied to his New York story.
Program: Approximately 50 minutes
Admission: Free
Presented by the Dvořák American Heritage Association in collaboration with the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association with support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.
About
Carl Christian Bettendorf is a New York-based composer and conductor. Born in Germany, he studied with Wolfgang Rihm and Tristan Murail, among others, and he holds a doctorate from Columbia University. Currently, he serves on the composition faculty of Rowan University (NJ). As a conductor, Bettendorf has worked with new-music ensembles in New York and abroad and is entering his first season as director of the BAFFA Symphony Orchestra on Long Island. He previously directed the Manhattanville College and Bates College orchestras, and his opera credits include Bard College and the Opera national de Montpellier (France).
Camerata Notturna, founded in 2006, is one of New York’s most exciting and inventive chamber orchestras, comprising accomplished amateur and professional musicians. The orchestra regularly collaborates with the world’s leading soloists and composers in presenting dynamic, eclectic programs of well-known and lesser-known music, including works by members of groups traditionally underrepresented in classical music.
Discover Dvořák Before the Concert
Why does a statue of one of the world’s great composers stand in Stuyvesant Square Park? Explore Dvořák’s remarkable connection to our neighborhood in SPNA’s feature, “The Composer in the Park: Antonín Dvořák and the Sound of Stuyvesant Square,” then get ready for the concert with our one-hour Spotify playlist devoted to his music.