Posted on 01/06/2008 10:30:52 AM PST by HoosierHawk
Dances are here. I thought Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra were superb.
Thanks. I bought that on vinyl years ago. It will be nice to hear it again.
Very nice. Thank you.
Thank you.
MY, thanks for the awesome suggestion!! Very happy listening!
Enjoy.
::smiling:: Oh, I am enjoying! Thanks so much for your additions!
I’m not having any luck there.
Ahh well.
Glad you enjoy!
#21...Ahhhh! so smooth!
The 6th is a big one for me. There are two acid tests in that symphony. The first is Bar 500 in the first movement. It's the second climax, and so many conductors miss that. The second acid test is the coda to the finale. Dvorak pushes it to presto, and so many conductors barely push it to allegro vivace.
Kertesz' 6th observes the first movement exposition repeat, which is good because the first ending has some of the composer's best music. He hits Bar 500 squarely. But he doesn't push the finale's coda.
Myung-Whun Chung hits Bar 500 and pushes the coda nicely, but lacks the first movement repeat.
For me, the gold standard was Erich Leinsdorf's 1968 recording. I think the BSO would have played faster had he asked. But he doesn't observe the repeat in the first movement.
For the 9th, give Neeme Järvi a listen. Thanks to the CD era, we're hearing a lot of first movement exposition repeats, and the 9th is a doozy, simply because there is no first ending! The repeat comes as a total shock.
The Cello Concerto is the crown jewel of that instrument's repertory.
The Czech Suite has been ignored but deserves a listen.
For chamber orchestras, Dvorak wrote a serenade (E Major) for string orchestra and a magnificent serenade (D minor) for wind band.
His chamber music is of exceptional quality. The Quartet for Piano and Strings in E-flat is a rip-roaring crowd pleaser as is the Quintet for Piano and Strings in A. His String Quintet in E-flat comes from his American period and is a gem. And don't forget his many string quartets!
His Trios for Piano, Violin and Cello are all worth a listen, especially the cute little G minor trio, an early work.
And let's not forget his opera "Russalka", based on "The Little Mermaid", which Dvorak works up as a tragedy, not a Disney comedy.
He was a great all-round composer.
The first version of the 4th I ever heard or owned was Rowicki’s.
I agree. Dvorak was a great all-around composer.
Dear HoosierHawk and EveningStar,
Thanks for the ping!
Classical Music Ping List ping!
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sitetest
It's a darn shame he was given only mundane attention till late in his rather short life (64).
After failing to win the hand of his first love, he married her sister and they had nine kids.
Despite the protests of the Czech head-of-state, President Vaclav Havel among others, the New York city home of Dvorak was razed to make way for an AIDs center.
Leni
Dvorak was working on the Cello Concerto when his first love died. She had been very fond of a song he had written in his youth. He threw out the coda of the finale of the concerto and rewrote it with a quote of that song. It's an amazing moment in the piece.
PING for great background music!
Here's what I googled.
"Dvorak fell in love with one of his pupils and wrote a song cycle, 'Cypress Trees', expressing his anguish at her marriage to another man."
At any rate, he must have gotten over his despondency by getting married soon and having nine rug rats with his wife.
Leni
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