‘I only write music and let it speak for itself’ – such was Antonín Dvořák's attitude, according to Josef Kovařík, the composer's personal secretary in New York. Indeed, throughout his career, Dvořák seemed reluctant to share his views publicly. He did not contribute articles to Czech periodicals, his acquaintances were well aware of his dread of making public appearances and speeches, and contemporary critics often commented on his humble and unenterprising nature.

Yet Dvořák was not as passive as his alleged statement to Kovařík would imply. While visiting England during the 1880s, he became particularly concerned about forging a certain kind of image for himself in the Czech lands. Not only did Dvořák take an interest in English reviews of his music, he also sent several of these critiques to his contacts at home with the request that they be reprinted in Czech translation in the newspapers and journals of Prague. He proved to be equally strategic in some of his other professional choices, including the surprising decision to dedicate his patriotic cantata Hymnus: Heirs of the White Mountain ‘to the English people’, which can be understood as a clever tactical ploy, meant to signal the composer's international credentials to audiences at home.

Drawing upon various letters and the many excerpted English reviews that appeared in the Czech press, this article shows that Dvořák played an active part in determining which aspects of his reception in England would be relayed to the Czech public. More broadly, the article examines Dvořák's role as strategist – an aspect of the composer's career that has remained largely unexplored. Ultimately, Dvořák was mindful of what Michael Beckerman calls ‘the public-relations aspect of nationalism’, and the suggestion that he was content simply to let the music ‘speak for itself’ does not tell the whole story.

“我只写音乐，让它自己说话”——这就是安东尼·德沃夏克的态度，这位作曲家在纽约的私人秘书约瑟夫·科瓦日克 (Josef Kovařík) 说。事实上，在他的整个职业生涯中，德沃夏克似乎都不愿意公开分享他的观点。他没有向捷克期刊投稿，他的熟人很清楚他害怕公开露面和发表演讲，同时代的评论家也经常评论他谦虚和没有进取心的性格。

然而，德沃夏克并不像他所谓的对科瓦日克的陈述所暗示的那样被动。在 1880 年代访问英国时，他特别关心在捷克土地上为自己树立某种形象。德沃夏克不仅对他的音乐的英文评论感兴趣，他还将其中的几篇评论寄给了他在家中的联系人，要求在布拉格的报纸和期刊上以捷克语翻译重印这些评论。事实证明，他在其他一些职业选择中同样具有战略性，包括将爱国大合唱赞美诗：白山的继承人献给“英国人民”的令人惊讶的决定，这可以理解为一种聪明的战术策略，旨在发出信号作曲家对国内观众的国际认可。

这篇文章借鉴了捷克媒体上出现的各种信件和许多摘录的英文评论，表明德沃夏克在决定将他在英国受到的哪些方面转达给捷克公众方面发挥了积极作用。更广泛地说，这篇文章考察了德沃夏克作为战略家的角色——作曲家职业生涯的一个方面在很大程度上仍未被探索。归根结底，德沃夏克注意到了迈克尔贝克曼所说的“民族主义的公共关系方面”，而关于他满足于让音乐“不言而喻”的说法并不能说明全部情况。