Dvorak's first four symphonies were not published during his lifetime. The symphony known today as the 5th Symphony was actually Dvorak's 3rd published work in the genre. The numbering of all nine symphonies today reflects the chronological order in which they were composed.
Dvorak's 5th Symphony is pastoral in style from the opening measures. The principal theme of the first movement is reminiscent of a distant alpine horn call. The second movement is a lyrical nocturne.
The middle two movements are linked with a short transition, leading into a lively scherzo that evokes Dvorak's Slavonic Dances. The finale is dramatic and harmonically complex, beginning in A minor and passing through several other keys before settling into F Major. The ending quotes the beginning of the first movement before ending in a fanfare of F Major.
