When Dvorak sent Brahms a copy of his Moravian Duets, the older composer was so impressed he petitioned his own publisher, Simrock, to publish them. So began a life-long friendship with Brahms and a long and, at times, stormy relationship with Simrock.

In 1878 Simrock, anxious for another success on the lines of Brahms' Hungarian Dances, suggested Dvorak write his own set of national dances. The first set of Slavonic Dances were written for piano duet, with an orchestral version following soon after. When they appeared in August 1878 as Op. 46, Dvorak received just 300 marks, a tiny amount compared to the fortune Simrock would make from them. A second set (Op. 72) appeared in 1887, Dvorak making a more reasonable sum of 3000 marks, a testament to the univeral appeal of Op. 46.

Dvorak Piano Concerto II: Andante Sostenuto