Negro Folk Symphony

In 1934, William Dawson imagined a symphony that would fuse African rhythms and American laments into the symphonic form. What Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony promised, Dawson delivered. His defiant, triumphant “Negro Folk Symphony” is the greatest symphony you’ve never heard, premiered by no less than Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra to thunderous acclaim. Also, the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto with Lara Downs. And Chia-Hsuan Lin joins Valentina Peleggi for a two-conductor meditation by Roxanna Panufnik.