Czech Music Antonin Dvorak 1841-1904: from the trains of Nelahozeves to the rhythms of Africa
The Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony is one of the most famous themes in the history of music. It's a piece of music that you will probably recognize even if you've never listened to classical music in your life. The New World has been adapted a thousand times - the Largo has reincarnations as a gospel song, a bagpiper's dream, a jazz band tune, even as the theme in the very quirky Ken Russell film "Crimes of Passion" with Kathleen Turner as a prostitute. Meanwhile in Japan the New World is so popular that it is almost considered part of the country's national heritage. And in Britain millions of people will forever associate the New World with a TV commercial - a little boy somewhere in the north of England walking up a hill with a loaf of Hovis under his arm. Around the world Dvorak has become part of our musical furniture.
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