Antonin Dvorak was born on September 8, 1841 in Nelahozeves, a Czech village, located on the Vltava River north of Prague. He was the first of nine children. His parents were Anna Dvorakova and Frantisek Dvorak. When he was a young child he became interested in music. At the age of eleven, Dvorak dropped out of school. At this age, he became an apprentice butcher. At the age of twelve he went to Zlonice to live with his aunt and uncle and study German. There is where he took music classes which grew his curiosity for the knowledge of music. He learned to play the violin, organ, and piano.
After learning how to play these instruments, he fell in love with music. He wrote polkas during the three years he lived in Zlonice. These were some of