Muzeum Antonína Dvořáka

Muzeum Antonína Dvořáka review Rate it

Hidden away behind wrought-iron gates, the Dvořák Society's well-organised tribute to the most famous Czech composer is housed in an elegant early 18th-century Baroque summer palace, a red-and-ochre villa built by Kilián Ignaz Dientzenhofer in 1720 for Count Jan Václav Michna but later used as a cattle market.

Memorabilia and photographs make up the ground-floor display; upstairs are further exhibits and a recital hall, decorated with frescoes by Jan Ferdinand Schor. However, the concerts held here are the best way to appreciate the building's past as a retreat for the composer, with outdoor recitals in warm weather particularly evocative. Ironically, Dvořák actually spent very little time here: the composer's career was mainly established in the grand concert halls of Western Europe.