NSOI: Leonard Slatkin conducts Dvořák’s New World Symphony

Dvořák’s legendary Symphony No. 9 From the New World takes centre stage in this vividly imaginative programme. Composed while the Czech composer was living in the United States, Dvořák drew inspiration from African-American spirituals and Native American music, blend-ing nostalgia for his homeland with the bold spirit of a new world. Its sweeping melodies, including the iconic Largo theme (later performed at the funerals of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Gerald Ford), have become emblematic of hope, praised by the New York Evening Post as “the greatest symphonic work ever composed in this country.”