Born on September 8, 1841, in the village of Nelahozeves in Bohemia (then part of the Austrian Empire); Died on May 1, 1904, in Prague
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 (“From the New World”)
Adagio - Allegro molto
Largo
Molto vivace
Allegro con fuoco
Composed: 1893
Estimated length: 40 minutes
When Antonín Dvořák arrived in New York in 1892, he found himself at the center of an ambitious cultural experiment. The Czech composer had been invited by Jeanette Thurber, a visionary philanthropist and arts patron, to direct the newly founded National Conservatory of Music. Thurber used her influence to promote progressive ideals—most notably, the creation of a truly American music rooted in the nation’s own folk traditions rather than inherited European models.
Located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Thurber’s Conservatory was groundbreaking in its inclusiveness. She welcomed women, African Americans, and other underrepresented students, making the institution one of the most forward-looking in the country. Dvořák, who came from a Czech minority background within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, found her ideals compelling. Though already internationally celebrated, he saw his time in America as a chance to explore how national identity might be expressed through music.
One of his students, Harry Burleigh, an African American baritone and composer, introduced him to African American spirituals—songs Dvořák believed offered the foundation for a truly American musical voice. “The future music of this country,” he said in a widely quoted interview, would have to be founded on the melodies contained in African American spirituals. He was also fascinated by Native American music and viewed both traditions as rich, untapped sources.
These encounters soon shaped what would become his most famous work: the Symphony No. 9, which the composer dubbed “From the New World.” Composed in 1893 and premiered to great acclaim that December at the newly opened Carnegie Hall, the Symphony marked a powerful synthesis of Dvořák’s Bohemian style with musical ideas he encountered in America.
Whether or not the New World Symphony is truly “American” has long been debated. Dvořák did not quote specific folk songs but wove his own themes with rhythmic vitality, pentatonic shapes, and lyrical expressiveness that reflected African American and Native American idioms. At the same time, the music bears the hallmarks of his Bohemian and European roots: dance rhythms, melodic warmth, and structural cohesion.
Dvořák also drew inspiration from American literature. The slow second movement, with its famous English horn solo, was conceived as a sketch for a future opera or dramatic work based on The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem by the then-immensely popular Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem romanticized Native American legends—particularly those of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people—through the story of Hiawatha and his beloved Minnehaha. The scherzo, too, may have been inspired by a scene describing a Native American dance, contributing to the music’s rhythmic vitality and cultural resonance.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
The symphony opens with quiet mystery before launching into a sweeping horn theme that returns throughout the work. The second movement’s English horn solo became the basis for the spiritual-like song “Goin’ Home.” The scherzo bursts with rhythmic drive, while the finale opens with a bold brass fanfare and gathers the symphony’s themes into a stirring close.
Scored for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, cymbals, and strings.
− Thomas May is the Nashville Symphony's program annotator.
Featured on New World Symphony — September 19 to 21, 2025.
Nashville Symphony
David Robertson, conductor
Orli Shaham, piano
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