A Summer in Spillville in 1893

In her current novel Barbara Ortwein introduces us tothe composer Antonín Dvorák, already famous throughoutEurope, who in 1892 accepted a very well-paidposition at the National Conservatory of Music ofAmerica in New York City and relocated with his familyfrom Prague to New York. In 1893, homesickness for hisBohemian homeland led him and his family to set off onan adventurous trip to the small town of Spillville in ruralIowa for several months, in an area where many of hiscountrymen had settled. The experiences of the composerand his family in the former Wild West not onlyallowed him to find a little Bohemia in America, butalso an America of diverse influences to which Bohemianimmigrants also had made their contributions. It ishardly surprising that this journey echoes throughnumerous musical works of the composer due to thespecial inspiration that he found in Spillville and itssurroundings.Barbara Ortwein's novel was inspired by the author'spersonal experiences in Iowa, as well as in her new homePrague.With the composer Antonín Dvorák, she introduces anartist who provided outstanding service to the interculturalexchange between Europe and North America,indeed contributing to a blending of European andAmerican elements in music. The small town of Spillvillein northeastern Iowa played a special role in assuring thesuccess of this fusion, as the author clarifies in a mannerboth informative and entertaining with this novel.