Antonin Dvorak

Dvorák composed his Symphonic Poems shortly after the American triumph of his “New World Symphony” and after completing his beautiful final string quartets (Opp. 105 and 106). The first three poems were first performed in1896 in London, while The Wild Dove was premiered in March 1898 in Brno by Leoš Janácek. The recordings on this CD are interpreted by the Czech Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, a paramount musician and connoisseur and champion of Czech music. The poems round off his legacy in Dvorák’s symphonic oeuvre, from which he has recorded for Supraphon, for example, Symphonies Nos. 6, 8 and 9, Slavonic Dances and Symphonic Variations.

Sir Charles’s performance of Dvorák’s works interweaves the splendid Talich tradition and profound knowledge of the composer’s work. The live recording of The Noon Witch and The Water Goblin reflects the warmly poignant atmosphere of the conductor’s parting with the Prague audience.

The triumphant recording of Martinu’s Three Fragments from the opera Juliette (Gramophone Award 2009) was made at the same valedictory concert. The studio recording of The Wild Dove is the final culmination of the long-term collaboration between Sir Charles and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

A double-CD of Romantic Violin Concertos celebrating the art of Ruggiero Ricci, this set includes the first international release on CD of the Ricci/Boult 1952 recording of the Beethoven. Boult characterised it as ‘perhaps the most thoughtful concerto, the one which needs for the violinist to be a great man as well as a great player’. Indeed it is a thoughtful and poised reading from both soloist and conductor, coupled with classic accounts of the Mendelssohn, Bruch and Dvorak. The booklet notes by Tully Potter include a biography of Ricci and (sometimes wry!) comments by the violinist himself on the recordings.

[Beethoven] “I do not think we are likely to get a better recording for a long while” Gramophone

[Bruch] "Ricci gives very good performances indeed of both concertos; caught out nowhere, even on the margin of intonation, by their technical demands in the outer movements, he manages also to communicate both poetry and impulse to the slow movements." Gramophone

In 1960, the Stuttgart-born conductor Karl Münchinger (1915-1990), made a Decca recording of Pachelbel’s Canon and Gigue that assured the piece its immortality in years to come. Münchinger recorded extensively for Decca with his Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra). Moderate-size forces, rhythmic sprightliness and judicious ornamentation were the hallmarks of his recordings of 17th and 18th-century repertoire, and their general airiness also informs his readings of the Serenades on this anthology. The Dvorak, Suk and Wolf recordings date from the 1970s, whereas the Grieg, which he only recorded once, and has been on many “reissue request” lists, dates from 1956. This generous CD, released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his death and nearly 80 minutes long, is comprised entirely of first international CD releases.

Following the enormous success of the album OPERA 2009, EMI Classics is releasing OPERA 2010. Great voices of today and legendary singers of the past, from the EMI and Virgin Classics catalogue: the home of opera.

With 40 tracks, and over 2½ hours of operatic arias and duets, this double album features the best and most popular names in opera from the catalogues of both Virgin Classics and EMI Classics, ranging from the newest arrivals on the operatic scene, as well as many present day superstars, to iconic legends. This is an unmissable collection of the best in opera that will have a wide appeal.

Present day superstars include Angela Gheorghiu, Natalie Dessay, Sarah Brightman, Barbara Hendricks, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Jessye Norman, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Rolando Villazón, Roberto Alagna and Bryn Terfel.

Rising new artists are strongly represented by Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Elina Garanca, Vivica Genaux, Véronique Gens, Patrizia Ciofi, Philippe Jaroussky, Jonas Kaufmann, David Daniels, Max Emanuel Cencic and Laurent Naouri.

The programme also contains tracks by some of the world’s greatest singers of the past such as Victoria de los Angeles, Teresa Berganza, Mirella Freni, Lucia Popp and Franco Corelli as well as the legendary Luciano Pavarotti and the unique Maria Callas.

All the most popular operatic composers are represented, from Baroque masters like Vivaldi, Rameau and Handel, through Gluck and Mozart to Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, Cilea and Gershwin, as well as French favourites Gounod, Massenet and Offenbach.

The performing team of Piers Lane and the Goldner String Quartet has won many plaudits for their enlightening interpretations of the obscurer piano quintet repertoire. Now they turn to a composer who triumphed in the genre.

Dvorák’s two piano quintets were written at different stages of the composer’s career: the first during a period of poverty and uncertainty, the second when the composer was approaching the zenith of his international fame.

The two quintets make a fascinating pairing here. Dvorák originally tore up his manuscript of the first; luckily the pianist at the premiere kept a copy. It is clearly a youthful work, showing something of the discursiveness of the early string quartets, a point noted by a critic at the premiere, but there is no doubting the confidence with which Dvorák handles the combination of piano and strings (doubly impressive since he did not possess a piano at this time), which in many places anticipates the instrumentation in the famous second piano quintet.

Dvorák’s second Piano Quintet was an immediate popular success at its first performance and has remained one of the best-loved examples of the genre. The premiere was given by four of the finest Czech string players of the day and the promising conductor and composer Karel Kovarovic at the piano. The celebrated ‘Dumka’ movement, the lyrical heart of the work, demonstrates the extraordinary command of melody that characterizes the composer’s symphonies.

Performances of technical polish and expressive power, sensitively recorded, combine to make this a chamber disc to treasure.

Signum's highly successful series of releases with The Philharmonia Orchestra continues with these live performances of Dvorak's symphonies Nos. 7 and 8, led by Sir Charles Mackerras. This is the second disc to feature Sir Charles, following on from last year's widely praised live recording of Schubert's Symphony No. 9.

Dvorák’s two piano quartets stand beside those of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schumann as important contributions to the chamber music repertoire.

Enlivened by Czech inflections, the elegant charm of the First, with its marvellous set of variations and combined scherzo-and-finale last movement, contrasts with the more serious and weighty character of the Second, where an expressive theme for cello in the slow movement and a lyrical scherzo in waltz-time lighten the prevailing mood.

“Vlach magic” Gramophone on a previous release

Schott-Zierotin has recorded numerous CDs and is a publisher of chamber music and is a specialist in Strauss, Lanner and Fahrbach. Georg Wagner has a lively interest in all aspects of music and has been engaged in a variety of fields including publishing, composition, performing as a percussionist and soloist and accompanist on piano and harpsichord.