Dvorák’s “Slavonic Rhapsodies” op. 45 were composed in 1878 and issued by the publisher Simrock, Berlin the following year. These three independent orchestral works (in D major, G minor and A-flat major) were published with the same opus number and mark the beginning of his so-called Slavonic period.

The “Slavonic Rhapsody” op. 45/1 in D major now appears in an Urtext edition. The editor has made use of the first edition, authorised by the composer, as the principal source of his new scholarly-critical edition.