Dvorak: The Wild Dove, Op. 110 (B198) (The Wood Dove, Holoubek)

“Mackerras's textures are tender, while the orchestral sound has an inimitable gleam.” The Independent on Sunday, 14th March 2010

“Mackerras is a past master of this music, and in the Czech Philharmonic he has musicians whose experience of Dvorak is second to none. His way with the music is...lyrical and transparent...Mackerras underplays the more lurid and grotesque aspects of the tales...A sumptuous disc.” Sunday Times, 21st March 2010 ****

“Half-Czech by nature and experience, Mackerras brings vital qualities to these Czech Philharmonic performances...Here is surging energy, authentic Czech colouring and a strong dramatic sense.” The Times, 24th April 2010 ***

“Sir Charles...marks the Mendelssohnian drift of the big string theme in The Golden Spinning Wheel, a performance full of warmth and vitality, very realistically recorded and surely the highlight of the disc...dance rhythms are underlined but never overstated” Gramophone Magazine, July 2010

“Mackerras gives marvellously atmospheric performances, and there is plenty of contrasting melodrama...The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra is on top form throughout, and there is plenty of warm, tender playing, especially from the strings.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Harnoncourt attends to the subtler aspects of Dvorak's scoring, and his love for the music's unique sound world is abundantly clear...[he] relishes the music's mix of rustic dance forms and colouristic innovation.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2010

“Harnoncourt gives us a compelling account of 'The Water Goblin' savouring to the full both its lyric and its scary elements” International Record Review

“Rattle's readings of Dvorak's tone poems set a new standard” BBC Music Magazine, 1st August 2005

“Belohlávek has referred to his Czech orchestra's 'singing art of playing' and its 'mellow sound' and indeed it's Bohemia's woods, fields and wildlife, rather than energetic village green festivities, that linger in the memory here. Perhaps you shouldn't expect a Czech Philharmonic performance to 'go' or leap about excitedly in the manner of Kertész's with the LSO; in these days of high adrenalin, high contrast and high definition, there's a lot to be said for a less assertive and vigorous approach, always artlessly sung, and for this orchestra's Old World tim- bres a Brahmsian fireside glow, for example, to the Symphony's first movement second subject on cellos and horns (beautifully eased in by Belohlávek). These horns, always more rounded in tone than their rasping counterparts in London (Kertész), bear an obvious family resemblance to the woodwind, not only in timbre, but also in the use of vibrato (again, that 'singing art of playing'). And the 'silver moon' flute is one of this disc's principal joys. Belohlávek also projects the drama of The wild dove with relish. Chandos guarantees a sepia-toned warmth throughout.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Belohlavek conducts a glowing performance of No. 6, rich in Brahmsian and Czech pastoral overtones, helped by satisfyingly full and immediate Chandos sound.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ***

“outstanding playing from the Israel Philharmonic... recorded with remarkable richness and depth” Classics Today

“Flor's account of Symphony No. 7 lacks drama but is well compensated by colourful performances of The Wild Dove and the Othello Overture.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 ****

“Flor paces the music through to its ultimate stasis with unerring control...[there's] little to fault in the playing of the Malaysian forces or the wide-ranging sound” International Record Review, June 2012

“You have a definite sense of a charted terrain, with subtle shifts of pace as the scenery changes...Flor achieves a pleasing lift at the start of the Scherzo and I like the way the Trio floats into earshot. The finale is powerful...Othello in particular is superb and the Malaysian Philharmonic play brilliantly throughout.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2012