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Dvorak's New World
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sfr...@nycap.rr.com
Feb 22, 2019, 6:12:01 PM2/22/19
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I've been obsessing over this work lately (like, today) and wonder what others like. I have Ancerl and Szell. I prefer the former. I've heard Mazur and find it just okay. Looked up an old issue of American Record Guide and found this from 1998:
9. Not many pieces of music have been recorded as often as this one. And there are a lot of good recordings, too. After all, any full-time orchestra has played it a lot and knows it well - and that is not true of the other symphonies.
There are over 100 recordings of it available right now - many in numerous incarnations. There are eight listings for Neumann and six for Nanut, though they seem to represent five actual Neumann recordings and only one by Nanut. Needless to say, a lot of recordings are out of the catalog, too.
To help us narrow things down, we let the sound of the Toscanini, Keilberth, Tennstedt, and Fricsay rule them out. The Minnesota Orchestra has no tonal allure, so in spite of rather good conducting we cannot recommend Marriner. We expected more from Karajan and Horenstein: they are not very special. Mr Chakwin likes Horenstein's fire and energy, but most of us hear nothing that distinguishes his from other recordings. Chesky's reproduction is superb.
Jarvi is sodden and lead-footed. Dorati is not competitive anymore (May/June 1997). None of the Kubeliks are very good. The Denon (Czech Philharmonic) is sloppily played and badly balanced. The Berlin one is full of his usual tempo manipulations (Carl Bauman calls it "flexibility") and is played much better, but the sound reeks of artificial reverberation, and there's no warmth at all. The strings sound slightly metallic and have no body. Kubelik's approach is genial and pleasant but not stirring or moving.
There are terrible 9ths by Ozawa (but Philip Haldeman likes it) and Eschenbach, among others. There are also a host of perfectly reasonable but unremarkable and uncompetitive readings, and we needn't discuss all of them. In this issue we review the Fruhbeck de Burgos. It is beautifully conceived, and this man proves again that he is a far greater conductor than today's big names. It is utterly romantic - the opposite of Toscanini or Paray - and much more sensitive than Fiedler or Kertesz or Szell. The main reason this doesn't make our top ten is that it's a concert performance with distant miking and audience coughing. The playing is very beautiful.
The Ancerl is a fine recording. So is the Kempe (with Beecham's Royal Philharmonic); it has come and gone on a number of labels. It's fresh and straightforward and much better recorded than the Szell. The Szell is a bit tight and inflexible - as Szell could be. There was another fine Kempe on London (LSO). Barbirolli's 9th is much better played than his 7th or 8th (both dreadful) but still too English: blunt and businesslike, with no subtleties or refinements, no dreamy or heart-stopping moments. The strings are never beautiful, and the English horn solo in II is very dull.
James Levine's 9th is coupled with a good 8th (DG, May/June 1997). It's a pretty straightforward interpretation in a rather cavernous acoustic. His older one (RCA, deleted) was more aggressive, emphatic, high-intensity; and the sound was pretty good.
Arthur Fiedler's (with the Boston Symphony) is a brilliant performance that really crackles in the last two movements, where he is one of the two or three fastest. The very good sound is missing only the deep bass we can hear in some recordings. The Boston wind soloists are wonderful. Sawallisch has a great orchestra, too - Philadelphia - and the sound is warm, dark, almost tangible. Nice ambience, too. A smooth, sumptuous performance gorgeously recorded.
Kertesz, by contrast, is much more vivid and exciting, with powerful sound that comes with a slight hiss. The English horn soloist in Vienna doesn't have the tone of the one in Philadelphia. His sound is quavery, Oriental, folk-like. But Mr Chakwin calls this recording wonderful, and we agree. Listen to the timpani! The later LSO Kertesz is not as good, and you hear it right away.
Kondrashin had the same orchestra - Vienna - in 1979 instead of 1967. (It was issued in 1980.) The 1967 English horn player has either improved or been replaced. The sound is similar to the Sawallisch, with loads of ambience but stronger bass. The Sofienssaal has to be the world's greatest hall for recording. This all-digital disc is very "classy" in sound, in playing, and in interpretation. Kondrashin has his own very expressive (and impressive) approach; he's especially good at building tension, and he is never slow. Some may find him weak on sweetness and warmth - especially next to Waiter or Masur. Another gorgeous-sounding recording is the Previn on Telarc (Mar/Apr 1991). It's a pretty conventional interpretation - not boring or bland, but rather good - but people will love it for its sound.
Bruno Walter knows how to relax and bask in the warmth, but he doesn't miss much of the drama and excitement (maybe a little in the final climax) - a perfect specimen of balanced, healthy, brilliant, moving conducting that serves the music ideally and never calls attention to itself. There's also plenty of weight and majesty. His III is the slowest we know, but it works, and you hear so much more detail. The sound shows no signs of age except that 1959 was a vintage year. Vibrant.
Lawrence Hansen called the Pesek dubious and episodic - meandering and unfocussed - but had some kind words for Neumann, whom Mr Bauman also calls first-rate. The hushed beauty of II is a high point, but the whole performance is powerful, lovingly phrased, and tonally rich. This seems to apply to both the Supraphon and Denon performances (about 10 years apart) - see Jan/Feb 1995. (Steven Haller didn't like the Neumann in Mar/Apr 1987.) Another fine Czech conductor is hlavek, and his thoughtful 9th belongs among the top 10 (also Jan/Feb 1995).
Macal is very Czech (how did he get the staid old London Philharmonic to sound like that?) and downright thrilling in both sound and interpretation (Jan/Feb 1989 - it was licensed to MHS at the time, but EMI has since brought it out [62006] and that may be available in some places). The sound walks a magic line between vivid and too close-up. The strings are not as rich as some. His later recording on Koss is not played quite as well and does not sound quite as good (July/Aug 1991).
Another Czech recording is the Albrecht on Canyon (he, of course, is German). It is one of the fine recordings that don't quite make it into the very top tier (Nov/Dec 1997), and the label costs much more than full price. Karl Bohm is also Germanic - or Austrian, or better yet, Brahmsian - with very little temperament. Other perfectly adequate recordings were by Ormandy, Muti, Klemperer, Giulini, and Mehta. The Slatkin is beautifully played and recorded but barely scratches the emotional surface of the music.
We never reviewed the Inbal on Teldec, but we listened for this overview. Teldec engineering often seems to favor back-in-the-hall mikes for the strings and close-up ones for winds and brass and section solos (sometimes even violins or cellos, if they have the leading theme). That's what you get in the Inbal 9th. The first entry of the cellos is thrilling; the brass are loud and raucous. The violins - usually off in the distance - don't sound very good when the spotlight is on them. It's exciting sound until you compare it to the other Teldec - Masur in New York. Every soloist is better in New York. Every section is better, too. As for conducting, Inbal is exciting - very dramatic - but the central part of II is definitely too slow, and III is rather ordinary. If there weren't the Masur to compare it to, the Inbal would come across as one of the better recordings.
Kurt Masur's New York recording was reviewed in July/August 1992 by Tom Godell, who called it "a New World for the ages that instantly takes its place as the best available". When an editor reads words like that, he is suspicious. Doesn't Mr Godell know the Stokowski (not available at the time)? And has he heard our other Overview recommendations (many of the same in 1990 as here)? So I had to get the Masur for myself. The orchestra is quite something, and the soloists are unbeatable. Teldec's rich, full sound lets you hear how warm and polished the strings are. Tempos are relaxed but not too slow, and the colors, clarity of texture, and balances are ideal. II is unsurpassed in its serene loveliness and poetic power. Tom Godell told the truth; this goes on the select list of the best ever. It may very well be the best - best played, best conducted, best recorded.
The CBS Bernstein with the same orchestra certainly has temperament and emotion, energy and enthusiasm; it still sounds good, too, if you can find it. Its biggest fault was a rushed scherzo. The DG Bernstein will seem distorted to most listeners; II is quite distended at over 18 minutes (normal is more like 12). It's one thing to milk the music; it's something else to turn it to cheese. Bernstein plays around with every phrase - can't leave anything alone. The first movement is so slow it never seems to begin. Another slow performance - downright sluggish - is the newest Giulini (Sony; Nov/Dec 1.994). Giulini doesn't produce quite the abomination Bernstein does, but Steven Haller describes it as a study in torpor.
Mr Haller still thinks the Reiner "supreme", along with the Paray. Many of us can't stand the cold Mercury sound of the Paray; it's brass-heavy, and the strings are squeaky. It is airless - never expansive. The timpani is strong. To some extent you come to accept Paray's tempos, but they are the fastest I know. Il is very nice, even though it's two minutes faster than anybody else. The English horn soloist is good. But in the final analysis the Paray is a "so-what" performance: it's just not moving, and it cannot be at those tempos. Carl Bauman thinks a lot of the Reiner, too - along with the Szell. Szell has the same timings as Barbirolli, but the Cleveland Orchestra makes those Halle chaps sound like rank amateurs. Still, Szell is very little interested in beautiful sounds, and his strings can be pretty blunt. Szell doesn't give us a beautiful performance - he is not satisfying to the senses - but he does make it exciting. Il is nice; III takes a minute longer than Paray's and is far more digestible. IV is exciting, but here as elsewhere there's no "float" to the music: Szell is too earthbound. Reiner can be fiery, but he is utterly insensitive here. Lawrence Hansen says I am being too hard on Reiner: it is tight, powerful, dramatic, even driven, but not nervous and spastic like Toscanini (none of us can stand the Toscanini). Nor does it have the "ferocious clarity" of Szell. The Editor finds all three too fast and too cold - and the Editor is not alone. If you like the music tight and driven, one of these three may be for you - and Szell is probably the best of the type.
For years I (the Editor) have thought Stokowski the best interpreter of this symphony. His 1973 Philharmonia recording is only available right now in a boxed set, but surely RCA will reissue it by itself. It has rich sound, loving phrasing, and gobs of emotion. Yet it moves right along. It's the full romantic treatment without any distortion. Stokowski was a master of orchestral colors, and you will hear many remarkable details no one else brings out. Yet the blend is perfect, and the strings dominate with gorgeous tone. A great recording.
So we recommend ten great recordings that make up the top tier. I have seven of them in my library. To hold on to so many is very unusual for me, but I really cannot choose: I can't think of giving up a single one. Each one makes the music live anew for me - I remark to myself what wonderful music it is - and each approaches it slightly differently. I can live without Sawallisch because a couple of the others are similar, but if I didn't have them, I'd have to have him. And I'd buy the Neumann and Belohlavek if I didn't already have seven recordings!
Here are the best recordings of each decade. All are stereo; all have excellent sound:
1950s: Walter Sony 64484
1960s: Vienna Phil/Kertesz London 417678
1970s: Philharmonia/Stokowski RCA 62601
1980s: Vienna Phil/Kondrashin London 430702
1990s: New York/Masur Teldec 73244
To those we must add:
1970s: Boston/Fiedler RCA 6530
1980s: London Phil/Macal EMI NA
1980s: Czech Phil/Neumann Supraphon (many) or Denon 75968
1990s: Philadelphia/Sawallisch EMI 69804
1990s: Czech Phil/Belohlavek Supraphon 1987
Historic Recordings
Tom Godell dealt with the Talich recordings of symphonies 6-8 in the Historic Conductors Overview in May/June 1998. His are among the most important Dvorak performances in the catalog. After all, his connection with Dvorak went back to Dvorak's time. (Dvorak recommended him for admission to the Prague Conservatory in 1897.) I agree with his comments on the Talich 6 and 7 and 8 on Koch. These are indispensable for the collector of older material. I also wouldn't be without the wonderfully propulsive Talich 8th on Supraphon.
Another Czech conductor just as important as Talich was Karel Sejna. His slightly more recent - and thus better recorded - Supraphon disc of Symphony 5, coupled with one of the finest recordings of the three Slavonic Rhapsodies, is nearly indispensable - as are his versions of 6 and 7 in the same series. Tempos are never rushed, and the ebb and flow of the music is wonderful.
I hesitate to mention it because the 1944 and 1946 Prague Radio transcriptions sound pretty bad, but there was a Multisonic disc of true historic importance. Rafael Kubelik conducts Symphony 8 and the Piano Concerto with Rudolf Firkusny and the Czech Philharmonic - young musicians in music they loved all their lives. The Czech Philharmonic was in top form.
The New World is over-recorded, but the Talich is one of the most important. It is a vital, typically Czech interpretation. I cannot resist mentioning the pre-World War II recording by George Szell with the Czech Philharmonic. It has much of the tension and drama of the conductor's later Cleveland recordings but also a youthful freshness. Dutton has managed a superb transfer, and the coupling is one of the truly legendary recordings: Szell with Casals in the Cello Concerto (it has never been out of the catalogs in over 60 years). EMI and Pearl also currently list it, but the Dutton transfer and discmate are better.
Not many people know that Sir Thomas Beecham and the London Philharmonic recorded the Fifth Symphony, long before it was commonly heard. It surely must have led many to realize just how wonderful early Dvorak is.
One other disc deserves mention, taped at the Prague Spring Festival in 1951 and 1956. Andre Navarra is the cellist in the Cello Concerto with the much under-appreciated Frantisek Stupka conducting. Also included is a marvelous performance by the Czech violinist Vasa Prihoda with Jaroslav Krombholc in the Violin Concerto. The sound isn't particularly good, but the performances are worth having. The Prague Radio Symphony accompanies (was on Multisonic - a label that seems to have vanished).
The Slavonic Dances have also been over-recorded. At least one Czech conductor has recorded them each decade for almost 70 years. Talich recorded them twice. His 1935 set is on Music and Arts, and his 1950 edition is on Supraphon. That is probably the most outstanding recording of them. It glows with a passion and nobility that few others have. Also worthy of mention is a just-reissued recording by Otakar Jeremias on Dante-Lys. It was made in 1943 during the wartime occupation of Czechoslovakia by Germany. Jeremias was the permanent conductor of the Prague Radio Orchestra. Rarely have I heard this music conducted with such high voltage. Tempos are almost rushed, but there is a defiance and excitement in the music that makes one wonder if this wasn't a case of the Czech musicians using their national music to thumb their collective noses at the Nazis. I couldn't recommend it as an only recording, but it is definitely unique.
MIFrost
9. Not many pieces of music have been recorded as often as this one. And there are a lot of good recordings, too. After all, any full-time orchestra has played it a lot and knows it well - and that is not true of the other symphonies.
There are over 100 recordings of it available right now - many in numerous incarnations. There are eight listings for Neumann and six for Nanut, though they seem to represent five actual Neumann recordings and only one by Nanut. Needless to say, a lot of recordings are out of the catalog, too.
To help us narrow things down, we let the sound of the Toscanini, Keilberth, Tennstedt, and Fricsay rule them out. The Minnesota Orchestra has no tonal allure, so in spite of rather good conducting we cannot recommend Marriner. We expected more from Karajan and Horenstein: they are not very special. Mr Chakwin likes Horenstein's fire and energy, but most of us hear nothing that distinguishes his from other recordings. Chesky's reproduction is superb.
Jarvi is sodden and lead-footed. Dorati is not competitive anymore (May/June 1997). None of the Kubeliks are very good. The Denon (Czech Philharmonic) is sloppily played and badly balanced. The Berlin one is full of his usual tempo manipulations (Carl Bauman calls it "flexibility") and is played much better, but the sound reeks of artificial reverberation, and there's no warmth at all. The strings sound slightly metallic and have no body. Kubelik's approach is genial and pleasant but not stirring or moving.
There are terrible 9ths by Ozawa (but Philip Haldeman likes it) and Eschenbach, among others. There are also a host of perfectly reasonable but unremarkable and uncompetitive readings, and we needn't discuss all of them. In this issue we review the Fruhbeck de Burgos. It is beautifully conceived, and this man proves again that he is a far greater conductor than today's big names. It is utterly romantic - the opposite of Toscanini or Paray - and much more sensitive than Fiedler or Kertesz or Szell. The main reason this doesn't make our top ten is that it's a concert performance with distant miking and audience coughing. The playing is very beautiful.
The Ancerl is a fine recording. So is the Kempe (with Beecham's Royal Philharmonic); it has come and gone on a number of labels. It's fresh and straightforward and much better recorded than the Szell. The Szell is a bit tight and inflexible - as Szell could be. There was another fine Kempe on London (LSO). Barbirolli's 9th is much better played than his 7th or 8th (both dreadful) but still too English: blunt and businesslike, with no subtleties or refinements, no dreamy or heart-stopping moments. The strings are never beautiful, and the English horn solo in II is very dull.
James Levine's 9th is coupled with a good 8th (DG, May/June 1997). It's a pretty straightforward interpretation in a rather cavernous acoustic. His older one (RCA, deleted) was more aggressive, emphatic, high-intensity; and the sound was pretty good.
Arthur Fiedler's (with the Boston Symphony) is a brilliant performance that really crackles in the last two movements, where he is one of the two or three fastest. The very good sound is missing only the deep bass we can hear in some recordings. The Boston wind soloists are wonderful. Sawallisch has a great orchestra, too - Philadelphia - and the sound is warm, dark, almost tangible. Nice ambience, too. A smooth, sumptuous performance gorgeously recorded.
Kertesz, by contrast, is much more vivid and exciting, with powerful sound that comes with a slight hiss. The English horn soloist in Vienna doesn't have the tone of the one in Philadelphia. His sound is quavery, Oriental, folk-like. But Mr Chakwin calls this recording wonderful, and we agree. Listen to the timpani! The later LSO Kertesz is not as good, and you hear it right away.
Kondrashin had the same orchestra - Vienna - in 1979 instead of 1967. (It was issued in 1980.) The 1967 English horn player has either improved or been replaced. The sound is similar to the Sawallisch, with loads of ambience but stronger bass. The Sofienssaal has to be the world's greatest hall for recording. This all-digital disc is very "classy" in sound, in playing, and in interpretation. Kondrashin has his own very expressive (and impressive) approach; he's especially good at building tension, and he is never slow. Some may find him weak on sweetness and warmth - especially next to Waiter or Masur. Another gorgeous-sounding recording is the Previn on Telarc (Mar/Apr 1991). It's a pretty conventional interpretation - not boring or bland, but rather good - but people will love it for its sound.
Bruno Walter knows how to relax and bask in the warmth, but he doesn't miss much of the drama and excitement (maybe a little in the final climax) - a perfect specimen of balanced, healthy, brilliant, moving conducting that serves the music ideally and never calls attention to itself. There's also plenty of weight and majesty. His III is the slowest we know, but it works, and you hear so much more detail. The sound shows no signs of age except that 1959 was a vintage year. Vibrant.
Lawrence Hansen called the Pesek dubious and episodic - meandering and unfocussed - but had some kind words for Neumann, whom Mr Bauman also calls first-rate. The hushed beauty of II is a high point, but the whole performance is powerful, lovingly phrased, and tonally rich. This seems to apply to both the Supraphon and Denon performances (about 10 years apart) - see Jan/Feb 1995. (Steven Haller didn't like the Neumann in Mar/Apr 1987.) Another fine Czech conductor is hlavek, and his thoughtful 9th belongs among the top 10 (also Jan/Feb 1995).
Macal is very Czech (how did he get the staid old London Philharmonic to sound like that?) and downright thrilling in both sound and interpretation (Jan/Feb 1989 - it was licensed to MHS at the time, but EMI has since brought it out [62006] and that may be available in some places). The sound walks a magic line between vivid and too close-up. The strings are not as rich as some. His later recording on Koss is not played quite as well and does not sound quite as good (July/Aug 1991).
Another Czech recording is the Albrecht on Canyon (he, of course, is German). It is one of the fine recordings that don't quite make it into the very top tier (Nov/Dec 1997), and the label costs much more than full price. Karl Bohm is also Germanic - or Austrian, or better yet, Brahmsian - with very little temperament. Other perfectly adequate recordings were by Ormandy, Muti, Klemperer, Giulini, and Mehta. The Slatkin is beautifully played and recorded but barely scratches the emotional surface of the music.
We never reviewed the Inbal on Teldec, but we listened for this overview. Teldec engineering often seems to favor back-in-the-hall mikes for the strings and close-up ones for winds and brass and section solos (sometimes even violins or cellos, if they have the leading theme). That's what you get in the Inbal 9th. The first entry of the cellos is thrilling; the brass are loud and raucous. The violins - usually off in the distance - don't sound very good when the spotlight is on them. It's exciting sound until you compare it to the other Teldec - Masur in New York. Every soloist is better in New York. Every section is better, too. As for conducting, Inbal is exciting - very dramatic - but the central part of II is definitely too slow, and III is rather ordinary. If there weren't the Masur to compare it to, the Inbal would come across as one of the better recordings.
Kurt Masur's New York recording was reviewed in July/August 1992 by Tom Godell, who called it "a New World for the ages that instantly takes its place as the best available". When an editor reads words like that, he is suspicious. Doesn't Mr Godell know the Stokowski (not available at the time)? And has he heard our other Overview recommendations (many of the same in 1990 as here)? So I had to get the Masur for myself. The orchestra is quite something, and the soloists are unbeatable. Teldec's rich, full sound lets you hear how warm and polished the strings are. Tempos are relaxed but not too slow, and the colors, clarity of texture, and balances are ideal. II is unsurpassed in its serene loveliness and poetic power. Tom Godell told the truth; this goes on the select list of the best ever. It may very well be the best - best played, best conducted, best recorded.
The CBS Bernstein with the same orchestra certainly has temperament and emotion, energy and enthusiasm; it still sounds good, too, if you can find it. Its biggest fault was a rushed scherzo. The DG Bernstein will seem distorted to most listeners; II is quite distended at over 18 minutes (normal is more like 12). It's one thing to milk the music; it's something else to turn it to cheese. Bernstein plays around with every phrase - can't leave anything alone. The first movement is so slow it never seems to begin. Another slow performance - downright sluggish - is the newest Giulini (Sony; Nov/Dec 1.994). Giulini doesn't produce quite the abomination Bernstein does, but Steven Haller describes it as a study in torpor.
Mr Haller still thinks the Reiner "supreme", along with the Paray. Many of us can't stand the cold Mercury sound of the Paray; it's brass-heavy, and the strings are squeaky. It is airless - never expansive. The timpani is strong. To some extent you come to accept Paray's tempos, but they are the fastest I know. Il is very nice, even though it's two minutes faster than anybody else. The English horn soloist is good. But in the final analysis the Paray is a "so-what" performance: it's just not moving, and it cannot be at those tempos. Carl Bauman thinks a lot of the Reiner, too - along with the Szell. Szell has the same timings as Barbirolli, but the Cleveland Orchestra makes those Halle chaps sound like rank amateurs. Still, Szell is very little interested in beautiful sounds, and his strings can be pretty blunt. Szell doesn't give us a beautiful performance - he is not satisfying to the senses - but he does make it exciting. Il is nice; III takes a minute longer than Paray's and is far more digestible. IV is exciting, but here as elsewhere there's no "float" to the music: Szell is too earthbound. Reiner can be fiery, but he is utterly insensitive here. Lawrence Hansen says I am being too hard on Reiner: it is tight, powerful, dramatic, even driven, but not nervous and spastic like Toscanini (none of us can stand the Toscanini). Nor does it have the "ferocious clarity" of Szell. The Editor finds all three too fast and too cold - and the Editor is not alone. If you like the music tight and driven, one of these three may be for you - and Szell is probably the best of the type.
For years I (the Editor) have thought Stokowski the best interpreter of this symphony. His 1973 Philharmonia recording is only available right now in a boxed set, but surely RCA will reissue it by itself. It has rich sound, loving phrasing, and gobs of emotion. Yet it moves right along. It's the full romantic treatment without any distortion. Stokowski was a master of orchestral colors, and you will hear many remarkable details no one else brings out. Yet the blend is perfect, and the strings dominate with gorgeous tone. A great recording.
So we recommend ten great recordings that make up the top tier. I have seven of them in my library. To hold on to so many is very unusual for me, but I really cannot choose: I can't think of giving up a single one. Each one makes the music live anew for me - I remark to myself what wonderful music it is - and each approaches it slightly differently. I can live without Sawallisch because a couple of the others are similar, but if I didn't have them, I'd have to have him. And I'd buy the Neumann and Belohlavek if I didn't already have seven recordings!
Here are the best recordings of each decade. All are stereo; all have excellent sound:
1950s: Walter Sony 64484
1960s: Vienna Phil/Kertesz London 417678
1970s: Philharmonia/Stokowski RCA 62601
1980s: Vienna Phil/Kondrashin London 430702
1990s: New York/Masur Teldec 73244
To those we must add:
1970s: Boston/Fiedler RCA 6530
1980s: London Phil/Macal EMI NA
1980s: Czech Phil/Neumann Supraphon (many) or Denon 75968
1990s: Philadelphia/Sawallisch EMI 69804
1990s: Czech Phil/Belohlavek Supraphon 1987
Historic Recordings
Tom Godell dealt with the Talich recordings of symphonies 6-8 in the Historic Conductors Overview in May/June 1998. His are among the most important Dvorak performances in the catalog. After all, his connection with Dvorak went back to Dvorak's time. (Dvorak recommended him for admission to the Prague Conservatory in 1897.) I agree with his comments on the Talich 6 and 7 and 8 on Koch. These are indispensable for the collector of older material. I also wouldn't be without the wonderfully propulsive Talich 8th on Supraphon.
Another Czech conductor just as important as Talich was Karel Sejna. His slightly more recent - and thus better recorded - Supraphon disc of Symphony 5, coupled with one of the finest recordings of the three Slavonic Rhapsodies, is nearly indispensable - as are his versions of 6 and 7 in the same series. Tempos are never rushed, and the ebb and flow of the music is wonderful.
I hesitate to mention it because the 1944 and 1946 Prague Radio transcriptions sound pretty bad, but there was a Multisonic disc of true historic importance. Rafael Kubelik conducts Symphony 8 and the Piano Concerto with Rudolf Firkusny and the Czech Philharmonic - young musicians in music they loved all their lives. The Czech Philharmonic was in top form.
The New World is over-recorded, but the Talich is one of the most important. It is a vital, typically Czech interpretation. I cannot resist mentioning the pre-World War II recording by George Szell with the Czech Philharmonic. It has much of the tension and drama of the conductor's later Cleveland recordings but also a youthful freshness. Dutton has managed a superb transfer, and the coupling is one of the truly legendary recordings: Szell with Casals in the Cello Concerto (it has never been out of the catalogs in over 60 years). EMI and Pearl also currently list it, but the Dutton transfer and discmate are better.
Not many people know that Sir Thomas Beecham and the London Philharmonic recorded the Fifth Symphony, long before it was commonly heard. It surely must have led many to realize just how wonderful early Dvorak is.
One other disc deserves mention, taped at the Prague Spring Festival in 1951 and 1956. Andre Navarra is the cellist in the Cello Concerto with the much under-appreciated Frantisek Stupka conducting. Also included is a marvelous performance by the Czech violinist Vasa Prihoda with Jaroslav Krombholc in the Violin Concerto. The sound isn't particularly good, but the performances are worth having. The Prague Radio Symphony accompanies (was on Multisonic - a label that seems to have vanished).
The Slavonic Dances have also been over-recorded. At least one Czech conductor has recorded them each decade for almost 70 years. Talich recorded them twice. His 1935 set is on Music and Arts, and his 1950 edition is on Supraphon. That is probably the most outstanding recording of them. It glows with a passion and nobility that few others have. Also worthy of mention is a just-reissued recording by Otakar Jeremias on Dante-Lys. It was made in 1943 during the wartime occupation of Czechoslovakia by Germany. Jeremias was the permanent conductor of the Prague Radio Orchestra. Rarely have I heard this music conducted with such high voltage. Tempos are almost rushed, but there is a defiance and excitement in the music that makes one wonder if this wasn't a case of the Czech musicians using their national music to thumb their collective noses at the Nazis. I couldn't recommend it as an only recording, but it is definitely unique.
MIFrost
gggg...@gmail.com
Feb 22, 2019, 6:35:24 PM2/22/19
to
gggg...@gmail.com
Feb 22, 2019, 8:49:22 PM2/22/19
to
On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 1:12:01 PM UTC-10, sfr...@nycap.rr.com wrote:
Message has been deleted
gggg...@gmail.com
Feb 22, 2019, 10:26:24 PM2/22/19
to
On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 4:15:18 PM UTC-10, dk wrote:
> You forgot Celibidache!
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA9MWN-20zI
> though there are several more performances
> of his on YT. This particular one I had the
> privilege of being in the audience!
>
> Otherwise, there is no question this is more
> than any other musical work one that Made
> America Great! ;-)
>
> dk
According to this:
- For choice performances of the standard symphonic repertoire, go for...the Dvorak "New World" Symphony (Turin 1962) on Arkadia 526...
http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/celiweb.html
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA9MWN-20zI
> though there are several more performances
> of his on YT. This particular one I had the
> privilege of being in the audience!
>
> Otherwise, there is no question this is more
> than any other musical work one that Made
> America Great! ;-)
>
> dk
According to this:
- For choice performances of the standard symphonic repertoire, go for...the Dvorak "New World" Symphony (Turin 1962) on Arkadia 526...
http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/celiweb.html
Gerard
Feb 23, 2019, 6:43:16 AM2/23/19
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Op zaterdag 23 februari 2019 03:15:18 UTC+1 schreef dk:
>
> You forgot Celibidache!
>
> dk
AFAIK MIFrost posted an article from the American Record Guide.
So "he" did not forgot any.
(Excepted Giulini, Dohnanyi, and a few others who recorded the piece after 1998.)
>
> You forgot Celibidache!
>
> dk
AFAIK MIFrost posted an article from the American Record Guide.
So "he" did not forgot any.
(Excepted Giulini, Dohnanyi, and a few others who recorded the piece after 1998.)
Herman
Feb 23, 2019, 7:09:10 AM2/23/19
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which Ancerl is this about? I have, and rather enjoy, the 1963 live recording at the Salzburger Festspiele. Also with a great violin concerto with Suk.
My experience is that these lengthy Search for the Best Expeditions are in many cases ultimately self-defeating, in that one gets tired of the piece.
And in many cases they don't have the benefit of eliminating future doubts about which recording to pick if one wants to hear (for instance) Dvorak again, since the next time one likes an other performance in a different way.
But maybe that's just me.
My experience is that these lengthy Search for the Best Expeditions are in many cases ultimately self-defeating, in that one gets tired of the piece.
And in many cases they don't have the benefit of eliminating future doubts about which recording to pick if one wants to hear (for instance) Dvorak again, since the next time one likes an other performance in a different way.
But maybe that's just me.
Ricardo Jimenez
Feb 23, 2019, 11:45:49 AM2/23/19
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On Fri, 22 Feb 2019 15:11:59 -0800 (PST), sfr...@nycap.rr.com wrote:
>I've been obsessing over this work lately (like, today) and wonder what others like. I have Ancerl and Szell. I prefer the former. I've heard Mazur and find it just okay. Looked up an old issue of American Record Guide and found this from 1998:
For completeness, go listen to the 50 or so 21st century performances
>I've been obsessing over this work lately (like, today) and wonder what others like. I have Ancerl and Szell. I prefer the former. I've heard Mazur and find it just okay. Looked up an old issue of American Record Guide and found this from 1998:
on Spotify. At least there will be few complaints about the recorded
sound.
raymond....@gmail.com
Feb 23, 2019, 1:25:50 PM2/23/19
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I've always stuck with Neumann for the Dvorak symphonies, finding no urge to hear different. Neumann is fully satisfying in this music to these ears.
Ray Hall, Taree
Ray Hall, Taree
Arno Schuh
Feb 23, 2019, 4:06:34 PM2/23/19
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Hi,
my favourite recording isn't available commercially. It is the Hans Zender
recording with the RSO Saarbrücken.
Yours sincerely
Arno
my favourite recording isn't available commercially. It is the Hans Zender
recording with the RSO Saarbrücken.
Yours sincerely
Arno
Greg
Feb 23, 2019, 4:50:22 PM2/23/19
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On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 6:12:01 PM UTC-5, sfr...@nycap.rr.com wrote:
> I've been obsessing over this work lately (like, today) and wonder what others like.
Like you, I recently did some extensive comparative listening of various versions of this piece. (In my case, prompted by a growing pile of live performances I collected the last few years but hadn’t heard yet.) So, for whatever it’s worth, here are the winners:
> I've been obsessing over this work lately (like, today) and wonder what others like.
Official releases:
Kertesz/VPO
Unofficial live recordings:
Kocsis/Hungarian National Philharmonic (March 2014)
…and now I’ve moved on to doing the same thing for Schubert 9, which is looking much harder to narrow down.
Greg
Message has been deleted
Kerrison
Feb 24, 2019, 3:12:19 AM2/24/19
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On Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 8:06:49 AM UTC, Kerrison wrote:
> Long ago I decided to try to limit any given work in my collection to 5 recordings, with the lack of shelf room being among the deciding factors. It hasn't always worked out like that but I'm content enough with these that follow and don't feel the need to acquire any more versions ... (1) Stokowski / Philadelphia (1927); (2) Toscanini / NBC; (3) Reiner / Chicago; (4) Szell / Cleveland; (5) Paray / Detroit (6) Barbirolli / Halle; (7) Rozhdestvensky / USSR Symphony; (8) Stokowski / New Philharmonia (9) Serebrier / Bournemouth Symphony (in a complete set of all the Dvorak symphonies). That's quite enough of a work I haven't listened to in a while but I might re-visit the Rozhdestvensky as I seem to recall it's pretty spectacular.
sfr...@nycap.rr.com
Feb 24, 2019, 12:19:40 PM2/24/19
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On Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 4:50:22 PM UTC-5, Greg wrote:
>
> …and now I’ve moved on to doing the same thing for Schubert 9, which is looking much harder to narrow down.
>
> Greg
Gunter Wand, Munch and Lenny on Sony. Those are my current favs.
>
> …and now I’ve moved on to doing the same thing for Schubert 9, which is looking much harder to narrow down.
>
> Greg
MIFrost
Kerrison
Feb 25, 2019, 11:18:12 AM2/25/19
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The "New World" pops up in this attractive potpourri suite of Dvorak tunes compiled for a Readers Digest LP by an arranger whom I suppose today would be described as "transgendered," having started life as Walter Stott and ending it as Angela Morley ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXoU1g307aY&t=2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXoU1g307aY&t=2s
Andrew Clarke
Feb 25, 2019, 5:42:15 PM2/25/19
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On Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 3:18:12 AM UTC+11, Kerrison wrote:
> The "New World" pops up in this attractive potpourri suite of Dvorak tunes compiled for a Readers Digest LP by an arranger whom I suppose today would be described as "transgendered," having started life as Walter Stott and ending it as Angela Morley ...
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXoU1g307aY&t=2s
As noted by the YouTube video, better known as Wally Stott, conductor and arranger at the BBC in the days when there would be a small ensemble in the studio when program(me)s were recorded, as well as an audience.
> The "New World" pops up in this attractive potpourri suite of Dvorak tunes compiled for a Readers Digest LP by an arranger whom I suppose today would be described as "transgendered," having started life as Walter Stott and ending it as Angela Morley ...
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXoU1g307aY&t=2s
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XsYJVK_pcg>
Great harmonica solo by Max Geldray, formerly of The Netherlands, latterly of California.
Andrew Clarke
Canberra
mswd...@gmail.com
Feb 27, 2019, 2:26:38 PM2/27/19
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One of my first classical LPs was Rignold/LPO. It taught me the piece well enough before I broke the LP. What do you expect from a five-year old?
It's not a piece that requires- or reqards- the last bit of urgency or intensity. A gentle, humane hand is all that is needed, and some flair for the endings.
I prefer the cluck-cluck sounds of the Czech Phil from back when it made its own sound. Give me any Ancerl or Neumann. My second choices would be Kondrashin and Horenstein. Oh, and maybe Barbirolli.
With all that in mind, I really don't want to listen to it that often. I know it way too well, and I'd rather hear 6, 7 or 8.
It's not a piece that requires- or reqards- the last bit of urgency or intensity. A gentle, humane hand is all that is needed, and some flair for the endings.
I prefer the cluck-cluck sounds of the Czech Phil from back when it made its own sound. Give me any Ancerl or Neumann. My second choices would be Kondrashin and Horenstein. Oh, and maybe Barbirolli.
With all that in mind, I really don't want to listen to it that often. I know it way too well, and I'd rather hear 6, 7 or 8.
Andy Evans
Feb 27, 2019, 2:37:24 PM2/27/19
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I imprinted on Malko - very serene slow movement.
agonor...@gmail.com
Jan 27, 2020, 12:45:13 AM1/27/20
to
agonor...@gmail.com
Jan 27, 2020, 12:48:36 AM1/27/20
to
Hello to all,
I am looking for video (VHS) tape produced by some US company in 1980s
- New World Symphony with Karel Ancerl.
Do you know it somebody?
I am looking for video (VHS) tape produced by some US company in 1980s
- New World Symphony with Karel Ancerl.
Do you know it somebody?
John Fowler
Jan 27, 2020, 8:16:29 PM1/27/20
to
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