Dvořák's original score, before he accepted a few of the numerous changes suggested by Hanuš Wihan, has been described as "much more musical", and this version has been performed from time to time. Some of Dvořák's music written in America, such as the American String Quartet, written in Spillville, Iowa, and the New World Symphony, was notably influenced by the American environment, specifically pentatonic scales used in African-American and Native American music. For the Cello Concerto such influence is less clear. One author suggests that there was little American influence on the concerto. Another author tells a story that one day when Dvořák was in New York but not at the Conservatory, said to be ill, a visitor to his home found him there composing. "His only illness was a fever of composition ... The remains of many past meals were strewn around the room, where he had been barricaded, probably for several days." Although the time is not specified, it might be understandable that in the later part of his sojourn at the Conservatory, when his salary had been cut and still not paid regularly, Dvořák could have felt less obligation to his duties.