Download Largo from ‘The New World’ Symphony by Antonin Dvořák flute sheet music from The Country Flutist.
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Product Description
Largo is the second movement of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, also known as the New World Symphony.
Written in ternary form, the movement opens with a serene progression of chords played by the wind instruments. Musicologist Michael Beckerman suggests these chords serve as a musical version of the phrase “Once upon a time.” The famous main theme then enters, performed by a solo English horn in D-flat major, gently accompanied by muted strings. Dvořák reportedly chose the English horn—originally scored for clarinet—because its tone reminded him of the voice of African American singer Harry Burleigh.
The middle section shifts to C♯ minor, evoking a mood of deep nostalgia and sorrow, eventually transitioning into a solemn funeral march over pizzicato bass notes. This is followed by a quasi-scherzo, weaving in themes from both this movement and the first movement of the symphony.
The Largo concludes with a tender return of the main theme and the original wind chords, bringing the movement to a peaceful close.
This arrangement features the movement’s iconic English horn solo transcribed for flute.
