York, Dvorak visited Central Park very often for reflection and to pursue his hobby of train-spotting (5). With his first four-month vacation approaching, Dvorak, his wife, and his eldest son and daughter, were talked out of returning home for the vacation, but talked into spending the time in a small Czech settlement in the north-east corner of Iowa called Spillville. The American-Czech violinist Josef J.Koverik whom Dvorak took with him from Prague brought this idea to him. Dvorak accepted and arranged for his sister-in-law to bring the four other children to the U.S. for the Vacation. The family found Spillville to be a comfortable environment much like home, and this immediately inspired Dvorak to compose (4). His first composition on American soil so happens to be the great Symphony in E Minor, opus 95, From the New World. In New York after his vacation, he found it unsettling to transition back from the picturesque life in Spillville. He was soon expected to have a decision about renewal of his contract for another one or two years by that following November. There were definite financial advantages to this renewal however Mrs. Thurber was paying his salary rather irregularly and in fact did owe him money while he was signing the contract for the next term and promised that to him or he could annul the contract at any time (3). During his second stay in America, Dvorak composed the fabulous cello Concerto in B Minor, opus 104, which was written in New York between November 8th, 1894 and February 9th, 1895. Also in America, Dvorak became very intrigued with finding an indigenous song form for America. This he found in the Spirituals written before and during his lifetime. Mostly Negro spirituals he came into contact with because of a Negro student at the conservatory in New York. These melodies that were found in this music, Dvorak used in some of his works and scarcely throughout other works. In 1896, at the age of fi...
