Antonín Dvořák spent a happy time in America in the early 1890s. As director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, he was generously paid, and concert audiences adored him.

Some of his most famous and beloved works were created in the United States, including the ‘American’ String Quartet, which uniquely combines landscape painting and emotional expression in chamber music. Unjustly overshadowed by this piece is the String Quintet in E flat major, also known as the ‘American’ Quintet: a colourful, masterfully crafted work in which Dvořák sought to capture the spirit of Native American music.

Both works have been among the Mandelring Quartett’s favourites for many years. However, the Humoresques, op.101, were a new discovery for the ensemble. Presented here in a first recording of an arrangement for string quartet, they include the immortal melody that the Comedian Harmonists made into a hit, titled “Eine kleine Frühlingsweise”.