With the publication of the second volume, all of the “Slavonic Dances” are now available in Urtext. Following the resounding success of the first series op. 46, which immediately made the composer famous around the world, the publisher urged him to write more. Dvorák only got down to work on them eight years later, announcing, “I think, these will be very different”. And indeed, the difference cannot be missed: the second series is singled out by greater formal freedom and more colourful harmony. Whereas Opus 46 is for the most part characterised by sparkling high spirits (HN 757), in Opus 72 there are also quieter notes: melancholy and poetry find their way into the exuberant dance.
