New World Symphony

The Story Behind The Nostalgic Melody by Dvorak That Became The Song "Goin' Home"

By • Nov 16, 2020
Tim Photoguy/Unsplash

Antonin Dvorak wrote his Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," soon after arriving in America in 1893.  A yearning melody from the second movement took on a new life as a popular American song that continues to be reinvented. 

The Philadelphia Orchestra on WRTI: Yannick, Hélène Grimaud, Dvorak's New World Symphony, and More!

By • May 1, 2020
Mat Hennek


How The 'New World' Symphony Introduced American Music To Itself

By • Nov 24, 2018

This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem.

Sometimes it takes an outsider to point out what's great about a culture. That's exactly what Czech composer Antonin Dvorak was when he came to the U.S. at the end of the 19th century, an immigrant thrown into a new world and new sounds.

A New World Was Needed to Create This Symphony

By Kile Smith • Apr 27, 2015

A native of Bohemia, Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was a minority in the Austrian Empire and in the classical music world. But he had risen to the top of it all when a millionaire patroness hired him to direct the brand-new National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. It would train all students without regard to race or ability to pay. There, in 1893, Dvořák’s eyes were opened to the possibilities of an "American" music.