Antonin Dvorak

When Antonin Dvorák learned to compose, he did it the old-fashioned way – by composing. Although he had written numerous shorter works earlier, the 20-year-old Bohemian bestowed his Opus 1 on a three-movement String Quintet in A minor for pairs of violins and violas plus cello in 1861. The next year, he turned out his Opus 2, a four-movement String Quartet in A major, and over the next 12 years, he wrote six more string quartets. Through them, the listener can follow Dvorák's progress from a talented amateur with an inexhaustible gift for melody and little feel for form to an almost-ready-for-the-big-time composer who'd learned to tighten his structures and control his gift for melody.

This performance of the fiery Fantasy in G minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 24, of Josef Suk, with violinist Christan Tetzlaff catching the full impact of the irregular form with its dramatic opening giving out into a set of variations, is impressive. And Tetzlaff delivers pure warm melody in the popular Romance in F minor, Op. 11, of Dvorák. But the real reason to acquire this beautifully recorded Ondine release is the performance of the Dvorák Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53, a work of which there are plenty of recordings, but that has always played second fiddle (if you will) to the Brahms concerto. Tetzlaff and the Helsinki Philharmonic under John Storgårds create a distinctive and absorbing version that can stand with the great Czech recordings of the work. Sample anywhere, but especially the slow movement, where Tetzlaff's precise yet rich sound, reminiscent for those of a certain age of Henryk Szeryng, forms a striking contrast with Storgårds' glassy Nordic strings. In both outer movements as well, Tetzlaff delivers a warm yet controlled performance that is made to stand out sharply.

Piano Trio No. 4, “Dumky”, ranking among Antonín Dvořák’s most celebrated works, is one of the most frequently recorded chamber pieces there is. After attending a performance, with the composer on the piano, Leoš Janáček summed up his impressions succinctly: “A new source of light has flashed.” When it comes to Piano Trio No. 3, the renowned Vienna-based critic Eduard Hanslick called it a gem, demonstrating that Dvořák was “one of the best modern masters”.

The Philharmonie Südwestfalen and its chief conductor, Nabil Shehata, offer us repertoire rarities of the highest artistic quality and one of the milestones of the repertoire. On the orchestra's second recording with GENUIN, the agile North Rhine-Westphalian state orchestra presents works by Antonín Dvořák on a double CD. In addition to the “Symphony
From the New World”, the album includes the early, lush 3rd Symphony of the Bohemian master and two of his late symphonic poems: “The Noon Witch” and “The Water Goblin”. A fascinating cross-section of Dvořák's work, from his Richard Wagner-influenced beginnings to maturity.

This CD features two quite lovely piano quintets, beautifully played by a quartet of players from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Clifford Curzon at the piano. The first piece is by Antonin Dvorak, who composed two piano quintets. The first of these is a relatively early work that Dvorak composed in 1872 when he was 31. The second of his quintets was composed only 15 years later and remains one of his most popular chamber works. The other piece on the CD is by César Franck and, along with his other major chamber works - the violin sonata and the string quartet - reminds the listener of the atmosphere of Franck's best known work, the symphony in d minor.