Two Scarlet Songbirds: A Story of Anton Dvorak

Fact and fiction come together in a magically imagined tale of the composer Anton Dvorks inspiration for American Quartet. Transfixed by the birdsong of the little Iowa river town where he and his family are spending the summer Dvork seeks out the beautiful song of the scarlet tanager. And as the tanager woos a mate and begins to build a nest Dvork writes the birds music down on everything from paper to shirtsleeves. At the end of one long summer evening the scarlet tanager hears familiar music from the towns schoolhouse and settles on a branch nearby to listen. Inside Dvork and his friends play the first rehearsal of American Quartet inspired by the little songbird. Then while one plays on the other flies home.