Dvořák’s Music on Screen: From Hollywood to TV and Advertising

Have you ever noticed how often Antonín Dvořák’s brilliant melodies can be heard outside concert halls? His music accompanies iconic film scenes, features in advertisements and television series, and in many cases we don’t even realise at first that what we’re hearing is Dvořák.

The most popular selections among filmmakers include the Cello Concerto in B Minor, Symphony No. 9 "From the New World," and the Humoresque. These works have become true global "hits" – so much so that the New World Symphony even travelled to the Moon with astronaut Neil Armstrong.

One of the most iconic uses is in the Czech film The Elementary School: as schoolboys Eda and Tonda set off on an important mission, Largo from the New World Symphony plays in the background. The same symphony appears in the Oscar-winning film Kolya, alongside Dvořák’s setting of Psalm The Lord is My Shepherd. The Cello Concerto features memorably in The Witches of Eastwick, played by Susan Sarandon’s character, while in Driving Miss Daisy we hear Rusalka’s aria Song to the Moon, sung by Gabriela Beňačková.

Dvořák’s music also has a place in popular series. Largo from the New World Symphony appears in The Simpsons, season 27, episode 1, and again in the football drama Ted Lasso during a decisive match scene. French singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg borrowed the first movement’s theme for his song Initials B.B.

One of the most famous uses outside the concert hall is Ridley Scott’s 1973 Hovis bread commercial in the UK, now part of British cultural memory thanks to its pairing with Dvořák’s Largo.

And Humoresque? It’s featured in countless films and shows. Czech audiences might recognise it from the series Bylo nás pět, where the character Zilvar hums it as "Stálo prase na terase". British songwriter Paddy Roberts offered a unique take in 1963 with his song Don’t Use The W.C., based on Dvořák’s tune.