How to Listen to Dvorak’s New World Symphony

Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, nicknamed the “New World Symphony,” was written by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak in 1893, during a three-year stay in the United States. Its most famous passage is the heartbreaking Adagio second movement, a piece of music saturated with longing and homesickness. Here are some ideas to inspire your emotions and your imagination as you listen to this piece. My impressions are obviously very subjective and personal, but hopefully they will inspire you to form your own, or perhaps deepen those you already have.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A recording of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “New World”
• A good stereo system
• A lively imagination
• Drawing pad and pencil (optional)

1. Put the CD into the stereo, skip to the Largo second movement, and press “Play.” Close your eyes and let the music wash over you.
2. After a bold introductory declaration by the brass, the solo English horn introduces the plaintive, achingly beautiful melody for which this symphony is known. Imagine a man sitting at his window looking out at a strange country, longing for the green pastures, rolling hills, and quaint villages of his homeland. The loneliness in this music is so strong as to be almost palpable.
3. About four and a half minutes in, the music changes to a minor key. The mood is still melancholy, but now there is a sense of mystery to it, and a feeling of motion. Imagine the homesick man finally daring to step outside his house and being confronted with the uneasiness and fear of being in a foreign, yet exciting, place.
4. At about seven and a half minutes, the music changes back to a major key and becomes cheerful, almost jubilant. Imagine the man taking a carriage ride through the American country and realizing that this new, strange land also has beautiful, idyllic scenery. You can almost hear the birds singing and feel the triumphant sweep of the expansive American prairie.
5. But this mood is short-lived. Barely a minute later, the music reverts back to the lonesome, homesick melody from the beginning of the movement. Imagine the man suddenly realizing in the middle of the lush, expansive American landscape that yes, it is beautiful—but it is not his home. Loneliness wins the day, at least in this movement.
6. Open your eyes, and, if you wish, sketch some of these impressions on your drawing pad.