Icons of The American Dream: Dvorák musically brings together the old world and the new, Gershwin combines jazz with classical.

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The success story of Antonín Dvořák - from simple butcher's son to mascot of artistic Bohemia - then captured the imagination in the land of The American Dream. His Ninth symphony 'From the New World' was an immediate success. Many heard in its melodies the years of immigration history of the Americas, and rightly so: Dvořák drew inspiration from negro spirituals of the African slaves and music of the indigenous people, but also used elements of the musical history of the European immigrants.

One of the most important composers who helped shape the American style is George Gershwin. In 1924 (100 years ago), at the request of "King of Jazz" Paul Whiteman, he composed his first (but now iconic) orchestral work Rhapsody in Blue. He himself later said, "The Rhapsody, you see, began as a goal, not a plan.