From the New World

Antonín Dvořák is one of the most prominent Czech classical composers of all time. It was his remarkable creativity and progressiveness which gained him fame even in his own lifetime, eventually bringing him for several years to the United States, where he also left an enormous musical footprint. While working in New York City, the composer, coming from humble beginnings in the Czech lands of Central Europe, took in the sounds of Native and African Americans and produced one of the most listened to symphonies on Earth called From the New World in 1893. Seventy six years later, this beautiful piece inspired in yet another new world as U.S. Astronaut Neil Armstrong took man’s first steps on the moon.

Study facsimiles of the New World Symphony and other documents presented by the National Museum of the Czech Republic at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on October 1, 2011.