Dvorak Symphony Kubelik

The Claudio Abbado recording of the Dvorak New World Symphony has managed to secure itself a place among the top digital versions of this much-recorded work, alongside the Dresden performance of James Levine, also on DG. Taken from live performances in 1997, it shows every sign of spontaniety without any loss of dramatic bite or xxcitement. Abbado makes full use of his theatrical background to bring about this effect both in the symphony and in the welcome, perfectly-chosen fill-up, and elicits peerless and attentively-detailed playing from the Berliners.

The Scottish National Orchestra with Neeme Jarvi has traversed the entire Dvorak symphonic oeuvre with wonderful success. Jarvi brings a sense of live and vitality to each symphony and the orchestra responds wonderfully. Jarvi's rendition of the 5th is, at least in my opinion, the most convincing in the series. The playing is spectacular; the Scottish National Orchestra brings a beauty of phrasing that complements this symphony well. Of equal power and beauty is the Water Goblin, which Jarvi undoubtedly champions. This is a wonderful CD. S

The first of Dvorak's nine symphonies and the last of his symphonic poems come here in a generous coupling, both of them among the longest works he ever wrote in each genre. The only rival version of the symphony on CD is the Kubelik, and that only comes in the six-disc DG set of the complete cycle. As for The Hero's Song, this is a real rarity. It is in fact the very last orchestral work that Dvorak wrote, in 1897 some seven years before his death. Unlike earlier symphonic poems, it has no specific programme, though the journey from darkness to light in the unspecified hero's life is clearly enough established.

With superlative recordings of Dvorák's unfairly neglected Sixth Symphony by Vaclav Talich with the Czech Philharmonic, Rafael Kubelik with the Berliner Philharmoniker, and Istvan Kertész with the London Symphony, this version featuring Jac van Steen and the Dortmund Philharmonic certainly faces stiff competition, and while it may not be the very finest, it ranks with the best recordings of the piece in the 30 years prior to its release. Van Steen has the strength, energy, and sympathetic understanding to put the best face on Dvorák's unendingly cheerful Sixth.

Myung-Whun Chung previously has proven his affinity for Dvorák on two occasions: an excellent recording of Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8 for BIS, and later with Symphonies 3 and 7 for Deutsche Grammophon. No, there’s nothing wrong with your computer screen: he’s already recorded Symphony No. 7 twice, and this disc gives us his second reading of No. 8, undoubtedly DG’s response to millions of fan letters sent to their offices by love-struck teenage girls threatening suicide unless Chung’s Vienna Dvorák cycle was allowed to continue. His recording of Symphonies Nos. 3 and 7 was never released domestically, by the way, leading us to speculate about what makes this disc more marketable than that one, assuming of course that such considerations have anything to do with DG’s decision to schedule a recording for domestic distribution.

Antonìn Dvořák - Symphony no.9 Op.95 "From the New World" - N. Harnoncourt, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Classical | FLAC + Cue | 1 CD, covers | 264 MB RS
Teldec 2000

This is Nikolaus Harnoncourt's best Dvorak so far, and one of the great recordings of the "New World" Symphony. Comparing it to the recent Abbado/Berlin recording on Deutsche Grammophon is instructive. Where Abbado is leaden, boring, and totally lacking in imagination and vitality, Harnoncourt offers bright colors, sprung rhythms, and an orchestra that plays with total commitment, on the edge of its collective seat. Listen to the thrust Harnoncourt gives the opening of the finale, to the gorgeous woodwind playing in a largo that is really slow yet never motionless or slack, or to the toe-tapping lilt he injects into the Scherzo's dance rhythms! Harnoncourt's care for detail uncovers fresh sounds everywhere, from the incredibly clear string figurations in large stretches of the first movement, to the single swish of cymbals in the finale and the gorgeous fade-away of the final chord.
The performance of The Water Goblin is no less gripping. Again, Harnoncourt takes great care with the percussion parts–the best in this department since Kubelik–clearly relishing the music's narrative aspects. When the Water Goblin thumps (via the bass drum) on the door of his (unwilling) wife's house, demanding her return, you can feel the room shake. He infuses the lyrical themes representing the girl and her mother with great passion and nostalgia, while the Goblin's tunes radiate malice and spite thanks to some magnificent wind playing. Harnoncourt and the orchestra sound as though they're having the time of their lives, like great narrators relishing a good ghost story over a campfire at night. Glorious sonics too, deep and rich. If you love Dvorák, you've just got to hear this.

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This set represents Rafael Kubelik’s art in a wholly positive way. His Mahler and Dvorák cycles are very well-known. The Dvorák remains, along with those by Rowicki and Kertesz, one of the three reference editions of the complete symphonies, and the only one featuring a Czech conductor.

Rafael Kubelik was one of our foremost interpreters of Dvorak and other great Czech composers such as Smetana and Janacek. His critically acclaimed 1960's Dvorak symphony Deutsche Grammophon cycle was reissued several years ago as a budget-priced collection.