Gary Hoffman, Mark Elder

A programme of

Slavonic Dances 5'
Cello Concerto 38'
Symphony No.9, ‘From the New World’ 36’

This concert features two great works dating from Dvorák’s sojourn in America. His richly melodic and atmospheric ‘New World’ Symphony has always enjoyed enormous popularity. After its premiere in New York, the audience simply went wild and soon Dvorák collars, ties and walking sticks were all the rage!

The public admired both the work’s American qualities and the music’s obvious nostalgia for Dvorák’s Czech homeland. That nostalgia is also evident towards the end of the Cello Concerto when the composer poured out his grief for the death of his sister-in-law.