Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

1. Adagio – Allegro molto (Slow – Very fast)

0:00
Antonín Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, “From the New World,” opens with an almost whispered melody in the cellos. Shortly afterward, a somewhat wistful flute echoes the theme.

1:05
After a relatively long pause, the music becomes lighter and more transparent. The flutes and oboes play a swinging, ragtime-like rhythm, while the horns and lower strings introduce a jazzy “blue note.”

2:03
The horns present a lively theme that evokes the bustle of a great city. A year before composing this symphony, Dvořák had moved from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) to New York.

3:02
Already fascinated by folk music in his homeland, Dvořák carried this passion with him to America. The rapid melody in the flute and oboe draws inspiration from Native American music.

3:58
The flute’s solo reworks the American spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” This melodic reference blends seamlessly with Dvořák’s own themes, which are then repeated.

4:58
The full orchestra restates the energetic theme. Despite the new influences Dvořák absorbed in America, the symphony’s overall structure remains firmly rooted in the classical European tradition.

6:01
As an immigrant himself, Dvořák appreciated the musical diversity brought to the United States by many newcomers. The melody just heard in the flute, for example, resembles an Irish fiddle tune.

6:48
With a powerful chord, the symphony seems to burst open. Fragments of the two previous themes and the spiritual swirl together in a maelstrom, almost as if competing with one another.

7:46
The rapid motion suddenly halts with a chord reminiscent of African American music—particularly jazz. Gradually, the lively main theme returns.

8:44
In African American music, Dvořák discovered, as he put it, “all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.” He sought to imbue his own work with “the spirit of the spiritual.”

9:25
Dvořák’s stay in New York resulted from his appointment as director of the conservatory. The position left him ample time, which he devoted eagerly to exploring the music of the “New World.”

10:10
The entire orchestra plays loudly and jubilantly, crowned by a majestic chord. The joyful themes of the movement are then restated with great urgency, bringing the first movement to a close.

2. Largo (Broad, sustained)

0:00
The second movement begins with a chorale in the winds. The unusual chord progression that sets the tone for this slow, dreamlike movement once again recalls spirituals.

0:49
The English horn sings a melody that is both powerful and melancholy. Though the tune later became widely known, the words to “Goin’ Home” were added afterward by one of Dvořák’s students.

1:49
The melody’s popularity stems from its unique blend of serenity, longing, and hope. It lies somewhere between a stately hymn, a folk song, and a gently lilting ballad.

2:42
Delicate flutes, oboes, and clarinets reprise the opening chords, as if sounding from the high registers of an organ. When horns and timpani join in, they create a brief, subdued outburst.

3:18
Dvořák had so fully absorbed the “spirit of the spiritual” that the later version of this melody with text was mistakenly believed to be a traditional spiritual.

4:22
The symphony made a strong impression at its premiere. The New York Times praised Dvořák for having become “a master of the distinctive features of black music.”

5:35
A new melody emerges, shaped by a downward, introspective motion. It sounds less distinctly “American” than the previous theme—perhaps hinting at Dvořák’s homesickness.

6:37
At times, a violin tremolo breaks through the mournful melodies like a passing breeze. The double basses accompany with plucked notes, resembling soft footsteps across a barren landscape.

7:31
Violins and flutes briefly swell before subsiding again. A soft, sorrowful chorus of violins and violas gradually fades into the darkness of night.

8:12
The violins, supported by almost inaudible clarinets, continue the nocturnal music with a legato melody. Beneath them, the cellos tremble in tremolo, like an ominous premonition.

9:26
The mood brightens. The oboe introduces a birdsong-like figure, joined by flutes and clarinets. The orchestra triumphantly intertwines themes from the first and second movements.

10:27
The English horn returns with its song. Dvořák chose this instrument because its tone reminded him of his friend Harry T. Burleigh, one of the first African American classical baritones.

11:16
The texture in the strings gradually thins. The melody is first played in pairs, then by only a few soloists. Unexpected pauses create the impression of sudden hesitation.

11:57
All the strings rejoin, as if to support their isolated colleagues. Through his subtle orchestration, Dvořák seems almost to call for unity and solidarity.

13:16
The solemn, reverent sonorities of the opening return in the brass and bassoons. From these deep tones, a melodic line slowly rises. The movement concludes in serene calm.

3. Scherzo. Molto vivace (Very lively)

0:00
After the tranquil ending of the Largo, the orchestra launches into the fiery third movement, clearly alluding to the dark scherzo of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

0:39
The wild, festive atmosphere may have been inspired by Longfellow’s epic poem “The Song of Hiawatha,” describing the energetic dances of Native Americans.

1:20
Oboes and flutes introduce a gentler melody reminiscent of white American folk music, today often associated with western films. Beneath it, the rhythm skips playfully.

2:04
The frenzy briefly returns, but soon dissolves into a mysterious interplay of short melodic fragments that gradually blend into one another.

2:40
Perhaps the most “European” passage of the symphony appears here in the form of an airy little waltz. A critic observed that, despite American influences, Dvořák never entirely left behind his national roots.

3:36
Such strong contrasts are typical of symphonic third movements, often structured as a lively scherzo paired with a lighter trio section.

4:22
The wild dance returns. Dvořák considered African American and Native American music “practically identical,” both reminding him of Scottish folk music, which he greatly admired.

5:25
After another exuberant outburst, a familiar theme reappears as a postlude—the lively melody from the first movement. The music seems to fade away, yet ends decisively.

4. Allegro con fuoco (Fast, with fire)

0:00
Restless strings open the final movement, initially hesitant but growing increasingly agitated. From their stirring repetitions emerges a majestic melody in horns and trumpets.

0:57
This simple, energetic theme has a folk-like character and resounds proudly throughout the orchestra. Dvořák then transforms it into a driving rhythm in the violins.

1:58
The clarinet introduces a gentle second theme, occasionally interrupted by lively leaps in the cellos and a dusky roll of the timpani.

2:58
A joyful melody in violins and woodwinds floats above the orchestra. Here, Dvořák expresses his delight in his new surroundings, clearly audible in the music.

3:38
In a calmer moment, the stately opening theme and the lighter second melody begin to merge. Joy alternates with a subtle sense of tension.

4:34
The violas recall a fragment of the opening theme, while echoes of earlier movements appear: flutes quote the Largo’s noble melody, and violins interject rhythms from the Scherzo.

5:46
The fiery main theme returns, now proclaimed even more brilliantly by the horns and reinforced by sharp orchestral accents. After this outburst, the music gradually subsides.

6:52
In an article, Dvořák urged American composers to embrace African American music. Though criticized for this stance, he inspired a progressive generation of composers such as Anton Farwell.

7:34
The charming melody of flutes and clarinets emerges from restless waves in the cellos and lower strings, soon joined by the nasal murmur of the bassoons.

8:21
Fragments of themes from throughout the symphony swirl together. A New York Times critic praised how Dvořák forged all his melodies into a “symmetrical, interesting and powerful whole.”

9:22
After a brief interruption by the clarinets, the strings restate the opening theme in grand, heroic fashion—almost reminiscent of a western film score influenced by this work.

10:04
The heartrending chords of the Largo resound triumphantly in the brass. The music accelerates toward an exultant yet tempestuous conclusion.

Text: Rick van Veldhuizen