Dvorak: Slavonic Dances Nos. 9-16, Op. 72 Nos. 1-8

The sound, the name, the first international successes, as well as the first recordings made by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, are inseparably linked with the name of Václav Talich. The recordings contained on this CD originated under truly exceptional circumstances and document unrepeatable moments.

The performance of Smetana’s My Country on 5 June 1939 in Nazi-occupied Protectorate Prague – and what’s more, at the National Theatre, perceived as a symbol of national cohesion – was an expressive manifestation of Talich’s patriotism. The moment’s sheer emotional charge gave rise to what may justly be considered the conductor’s finest recording of My Country and, following a long-lasting ovation, the enthusiastic audience spontaneously rounded off the concert by singing the Czech national anthem.

The presented recording of this concert and that of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances, which was performed at the National Theatre four days later, have been preserved owing to their direct transmission to several European cities. The recording was made by Radio Norway, which possessed the most advanced audiorecording technology of the time. Talich’s My Country, exuding defiance and a resolve to protect freedom, stands in stark contrast to Rafael Kubelík’s legendary 1990 My Country, which reflects the euphoria at the regaining of freedom. This recording, first released by the Czech Philharmonic, was hailed by the distinguished critic Rob Cowan in Gramophone magazine as perhaps the most powerful My Country to have ever been recorded.

NB: Re-issue licensed from Decca Music Group Limited, a division of Universal Music Group – original cat. no. 4646012

'Whereas the first set had featured predominantly Czech dances (with the exception of the second which evoked the Ukranian dumka — not, strictly speaking, a dance), the second set is more broadly Slavonic, incorporating Slovak, Polish, Serbian and Russian elements in addition to Dvorák’s favourite melancholy dumka strains. In these sixteen highly varied and colourful dances, Dvorák had fulfilled his original brief to perfection, creating stylised, even idealised dance fantasias which inter - mingle folk elements with his own inspired melodies so effectively, so disarmingly and so artistically that for the most part they have defied attempts by musicologists to uncover the folk sources. Dvorák justified his approach in 1894: From the rich stores of Slavonic folk music, in its Hungarian [i.e. Slovak], Russian, Bohemian and Polish varieties, the composers of the day have derived, and will continue to derive, much that is charming and novel in their music. Nor is there anything objectionable in this, for if the poet and painter base much of their best art on national legends, songs and traditions, why should not the musicians?' Iván Fischer

Iván Fischer is founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. The partnership between Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra has proved to be one of the greatest success stories in the past 25 years of classical music. Fischer introduced several reforms, developed intense rehearsal methods for the musicians, emphasizing chamber music and creative work for each orchestra member. Intense international touring and a series of acclaimed recordings for Philips Classics, later for Channel Classics have contributed to Iván Fischer's reputation as one of the world's most visionary and successful orchestra leaders.

It must have come as quite a shock to those who had known Brahms as only a composer of serious music – notably three piano sonatas, the first piano concerto and the monumental Paganini and Handel variations – to experience the collection of 16 Waltzes published in 1866 when the composer was 33. They were probably begun ten years earlier and form an album of memories reminiscent, in their variety of colour, of the different places in which he had first heard them – Hungarian, Tyrolean and even Nordic picked up no doubt from the sailors who frequented the bars in Hamburg where the composer played to earn a living. The Liebeslieder followed three years later and were originally set for vocal quartet and piano duet; five years later they were published without the vocal parts. The Hungarian Dances were composed and published over a period of eleven or twelve years ending 1870, Brahms orchestrated three of them in 1873. Brahms recommended Dvorák, eight years his junior, to his publisher, Simrock, in 1877 and the following year duly published the first set of Slavonic Dances which they commissioned. The second set followed eight years later. Both sets were originally composed for piano duet and later orchestrated. These recordings are one of the many that Beroff and Collard have made together.