Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" — Antonín Dvořák

Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 remains the most gripping fusion of European Romanticism and New World idioms, selling over 2 million recordings annually. Its Largo movement, inspired by African American spirituals, evokes a profound nostalgia that no other piece on this list matches in emotional breadth. The symphony’s premiere at Carnegie Hall in 1893 earned instant acclaim, and its use of pentatonic scales predates similar techniques by composers like Debussy. At 45 minutes, it delivers a richer thematic development than the average Romantic symphony, with a brass chorale in the finale that outshines #2’s delicate coda.