The Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”, Op. 95, B. 178 popularly known as the New World Symphony, was composed by Antonín Dvorák in 1893 while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and premiered on December 16, 1893, at Carnegie Hall conducted by Anton Seidl.
 
The second movement (Largo) was described by the composer as a “sketch or study for a later work, either a cantata or opera … which will be based upon Longfellow’s Hiawatha.”