Dvořák: 8 Humoresques, Op.101

Introduction

Humoresques (Czech: Humoresky), Op. 101 (B. 187), is a piano cycle by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, written during the summer of 1894. One writer says "the seventh Humoresque is probably the most famous small piano work ever written after Beethoven's Für Elise."

Structure

The cycle consists of eight pieces:

1. Vivace (E♭ minor)
2. Poco andante (B major)
3. Poco andante e molto cantabile (A♭ major)
4. Poco andante (F major)
5. Vivace (A minor)
6. Poco allegretto (B major)
7. Poco lento e grazioso (G♭ major)
8. Poco andante—Vivace–Meno mosso, quasi Tempo I (B minor)

The main theme of the first Humoresque was sketched in New York City on New Year's Eve 1892, with the inscription "Marche funèbre" (sic).^[3] The minor theme was accompanied with the inscription "people singing in the street". The opening theme of the fourth piece was also sketched in New York, among ideas intended for the unrealized opera Hiawatha. The "American" style is also apparent in other themes of the Humoresques.