As you listen, Robert suggests thinking of the music in terms of shapes moving up and down.

When it goes up, when it comes back down, when it kind of burbles in the middle, if you will, that really is the indication of what the composer was trying to say throughout this movement.

There are a lot of, um, gestures that Dvorak uses to get his point across and to get us from point A to point B.

Okay, are you ready? Here is Robert Franz guiding us through the first movement of Dvorak's Symphony Number Nine: From the New World.

So the work begins with this slow introduction to kind of set the mood, and this tune that you hear, which is so beautiful, is actually played by the cellos in a high range.

Their, their voice type is high in this point.

[gentle music] Little surprised by the horn.

[gentle music] Now the melody is repeated, but even higher in the woodwinds.

Here's Robert Franz on the TED stage.

I come from a family of music lovers, but not classically trained musicians.

And so whenever we would go to a concert, it would be kind of an exciting event.

My dad, my dad Bob, his name is Bob, you know, he's, he's kinda curious, like, "Well, what's this gonna be like?" So we were on a, uh, a trip one day to a concert and I said to him, I said, "So today the concert is gonna feature a world premiere of a brand-new symphony, a symphony that lasts about 30 minutes or so." And he's like, "Oh, 30 minutes.

Hmm.

What should I listen for?" I was like, "What a great question.

Thank you for en- e- engaging with me in that way," right? My dad and I are, like, having a conversation about how to listen to classical music.

We wanted to have you here because w- this whole episode is about how we perceive time, and I guess with that framing, how does what you just told me sort of play into it? Because it's very powerful.