The Spirit of America

Dvořák's most well-known works date from his three-year stay in America where he served as director of the National Conservatory in New York. They include the New World Symphony and the "American" String Quartet; in these works he set out to capture the spirit of American music. Béla Bartók’s Contrasts for violin, clarinet and piano was written for the great American jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman, the title of which indicates Bartók’s exploration of the timbral differences between the instruments rather than their integration and blend.