SACDs - Dvorak

In its valedictory release, the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet presents a pair of well loved chamber works offering a glimpse into the private world of two Czech composers. Antonín Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana – although they were sometimes regarded as musical opposites in their homeland – together they came to represent the quintessential sound of 19th-century Czech music.

Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, the Tokyo String Quartet has captivated audiences and critics alike since it was founded 45 years ago. Performing over 100 concerts worldwide each season, the quartet has a devoted international following that includes the major capitals of the world and extends to all four corners of the globe.

Officially formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music, the Tokyo String Quartet traces its origins to the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Professor Hideo Saito. An exclusive collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon (more than 40 landmark recordings) firmly established it as one of the world’s leading quartets. The ensemble's recordingss for harmonia mundi USA have included an acclaimed cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets. Its most recent release was devoted to the Brahms Quintets Op. 34 (with Jon Nakamatsu, piano) and Op. 115 (with Jon Manasse, clarinet).

Following their acclaimed recordings of Dvořák’s Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8, Claus Peter Flor and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra come to his Symphony No.9 ‘From the New World’.

Since its première, Symphony No. 9 has remained one of his most popular works. It was composed in America and, in the words of the composer, uses ‘simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music’, developing them ‘with all the resources of modern rhythms, harmony, counterpoint and orchestral colour.’

Dvořák performed the overture Můj domov (My Home) at the Czech première of the Ninth. Part of the incidental music for a play, the overture is based on two popular songs, one of which, Kde domov můj (Where Is My Home), would later become the Czechoslovakian national anthem.

Another of Dvořák’s ‘nationalistic’ works appears here – the light-hearted Czech Suite, consisting of five movements, all based on the dance rhythms of Bohemia, Moravia and Central Europe.

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.

Poltéra also presents his own transcriptions of several violin pieces and songs, including the Violin Sonatina, and Lasst mich allein, alongside the ever-popular Songs My Mother Taught Me and Song to the Moon from Rusalka.

Christian Poltéra and Kathryn Stott are regular chamber music partners and have previously recorded music by Honegger and Frank Martin.

Following their recent recording of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7, Claus Peter Flor and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra return with his Symphony No. 8

Symphony No.8 is a lighter work than his Seventh. Its roots are firmly planted in the composer’s beloved Czech folklore and, but it also has interesting parallels with Mahler’s First Symphony

The work is coupled with the symphonic poem The Golden Spinning Wheel, based on an epic poem by the Czech poet Karel Erben, and followed by the shorter Scherzo capriccioso.

Sviatoslav Richter (1915-97) left behind the extraordinary legacy of a highly sensitive, angst-ridden yet ultimately serene musician, a true monstre sacré, a perfectionist in search of the absolute. This duo of 'nationalist' concertos by Grieg and Dvorák featured only briefly in his repertoire. The uncharacteristic liberty of his playing and the sense of exultation is astounding, illuminating these romantic compositions based on national folklore. They form a unique, totally unprecedented combination.