Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) masterfully combined folk music elements from his native Bohemia with the classical formal language he had inherited and further developed from Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.

The Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, was compo-sed in 1889 at Dvořák’s country home in Vysoká u Příbramě. The work marks a departure from the dramatic symphonic tone of his Seventh Symphony, instead embracing a cheerful, pastoral mood and a folk-inspired character. It was premiered on Febru...