Dvorak Talic

One of the greatest string quartets of the 20th-century, the - 100% Austrian - Alban Berg Quartett remains famous for their unsurpassable renditions of the great Viennese masters. The ensemble notably put on record the supreme Beethoven cycle twice, once in studio, once in the Wiener Konzerthaus. Enjoy large excerpts of these milestone recordings, coupled with late masterpieces of Schubert (the Trout Quintet featuring Elisabeth Leonskaja, the quintet with two cellos featuring Heinrich Schiff…)

On this disc, Christian Poltéra and Kathryn Stott chart the gradual development in Dvořák’s composition for cello. The disc includes chamber works that Dvořák composed originally for cello and piano or arranged for the combination including Polonaise in A major, the Rondo in G minor and Silent Woods which was originally a piano duet.

"It is such an incredible work. It has everything; the passion, the virtuosity." - Ofra Harnoy, [about the Dvorak Cello Concerto]. Beside this masterpiece the disc also includes Slavonic Dances (8) for Piano 4 hands, Polonaise for Cello and Piano in A major, B 94, Rondo for Cello and Orchestra in G minor, Op. 94. Excellent recording quality.

Dvorák's Love Songs were drawn from his early composition Cypresses, a set of 18 songs set to the poetry of Gustav Pfleger-Moravsky. The texts are pretty much typical of 19th century love poems, while Dvorák's music is surprisingly commonplace for a composer of such rich melodic gifts. The first few measures of New Miniatures instantly identify them as being written by Martinu, with their spiky harmonies and syncopated rhythms.