Dvořák traveled to America in the 1890s, and this wild new country thrilled him. He admired the beauty of African American spirituals and was fascinated by Native American traditions. When describing his “New World” symphony, he said, “I tried to write only in the spirit of those national American melodies,” but his Ninth is clearly an expression of both the Old World and the new. Alongside Dvořák’s familiar symphony, violin phenom María Dueñas performs Saint-Saëns, and the program opens with a set of Four Black American Dances by Carlos Simon that also serve to highlight Dvořák’s African American inspirations.
Sincere thanks to the Presenting Sponsor for this event, S&T Bank.