Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” – II. Largo (“Goin’ Home”) | New Haven Symphony

One of the most beloved melodies in classical music: the Largo from Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” Performed live in March 2026 by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra at Woolsey Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, conducted by NHSO Music Director Perry So. Dvořák composed the New World Symphony during his time in the United States, when he was deeply interested in what an American school of classical music could become. He believed that Black and Indigenous musical traditions should be recognized as essential to the future of American concert music. A key figure in that story is Harry T. Burleigh, the Black American singer, composer, and arranger of spirituals who studied at the National Conservatory while Dvořák was its director. Burleigh sang spirituals for Dvořák and helped introduce him to a musical tradition that would shape Dvořák’s thinking about American music. Although the famous Largo melody is Dvořák’s own, it later became closely associated with “Goin’ Home,” a song adapted from the theme by William Arms Fisher. This performance was part of the NHSO’s “Goin’ Home” program, which explored questions of home, identity, memory, and American music history through Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 alongside music by William Grant Still and Courtney Bryan. Enjoy the full second movement of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, performed by your NHSO. Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World” II. Largo New Haven Symphony Orchestra Perry So, Music Director Recorded live at Woolsey Hall, New Haven, CT Learn more about upcoming NHSO concerts: NewHavenSymphony.org Subscribe for more performances, behind-the-scenes stories, and music from the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. #Dvorak #NewWorldSymphony #Largo #GoingHome #HarryTBurleigh #BlackMusicHistory #AmericanClassicalMusic #ClassicalMusic #Orchestra #NewHavenSymphonyOrchestra #NHSO #PerrySo #WoolseyHall