Best Dvorak recordings ?

RE: Best Dvorak recordings ?, posted on October 20, 2021 at 13:36:04
fstein Audiophile Posts: 2994 Location: fstein Joined: May 18, 2006	Kertez, Ancerl, Neumann

Yes - I agree, posted on October 20, 2021 at 14:39:43

Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26437
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
Since: February 6, 2012

Maybe Ancerl and Neumann more than Kertesz, but the latter certainly has his moments too, in the symphonic poems even more than in the symphonies.

The Macal/CzPO recordings on Exton are also great (except for the Third Symphony in E-flat, where he uses the inferior Simrock score for some reason). An unlikely choice for me is the series with Harmoncourt and the Concertgebouw Orchestra - performances so good that I can almost forgive him all his HIP recordings! ;-)

For the Requiem, I HIGHLY recommend the relatively inexpensive recording on Naxos with Wit and the Warsaw PO (or Polish National SO). I have it on blu-ray audio, but it's bound to be fine on CD too. Jansons and the Concertbouw Orchestra also have a great recording of this work on the RCO Live label.

Some fine recordings of the King of the Cello Concertos: Moser/Hrusa (Pentatone), Starker/Dorati (Mercury), and Wispelwey/Fischer (Channel Classics) - although I hear Wispelwey is kind of a nut case in his personal life.

Violin Concerto: Hemsing/Buribayev (BIS). I am not kidding with this recommendation. Bigger names be dam'd!

Symphonic Variations, Slavonic Rhapsodies: Hrusa/Prague Philharmonia (Pentatone).

RE: Best Dvorak recordings ?, posted on October 20, 2021 at 17:55:23

Daverz
Audiophile

Posts: 2104
Location: So. California
Joined: September 24, 2002

Unfortunately the Kertesz blu-ray set is out of print. But you can download the 24/96 files from Presto among other places.

I only know 1-6, but these are exciting performances, very well recorded.

This recording of the 9th in Vienna preceded Kertesz's LSO set, and it remains a sentimental favorite.

Thrilling.

Particularly for Szell's 7 and 8. Also in the Szell box, of course.

Mucho Gracias, posted on October 20, 2021 at 20:36:42
Ferrous Oxide Audiophile Posts: 187 Location: Illinois Joined: June 16, 2021	Thanks for your excellent recommendations (and great photos).

I don't have much in the way of Dvorak recordings...., posted on October 21, 2021 at 02:10:52
TWB Audiophile Posts: 7408 Location: Long Beach, California Joined: January 5, 2001	But for symphony #9 (New World) I quite like my Klemperer with the Philharmonia or of course Solti with the CSO....

RE: Best Dvorak recordings ?, posted on October 21, 2021 at 04:47:51

Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000

George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra own the Dvorak 7 and Dvorak 9...... Nothing comes close...... I've heard the Kubelik, Kertesz, Ancerl, etc. ..... All are also excellent, but Szell did these two symphonies at another level.

Oddly, Christoph von Dohnanyi, also with Cleveland, did the best Dvorak 6 and 8 I've heard on recording.......

Szell's reads of the Slavonic Dances are also tops, although Dohnanyi's were better recorded.

I've only obsessed over the cello concerto, enough to collect and compare about six recordings, posted on October 21, 2021 at 07:18:58

jdaniel@jps.net

Still, just a drop in the bucket but Karajan/Rosty is The One. K and the Berliners take the orchestral accompaniment *very* seriously.

Of the ones I sampled, the extended flute solo in the first mov't is the most moving IMHO. Also the handling of that great "infinity" chord progression at the end of the second mov't is second to none.

Rosty's Cello playing seems fine to me but it's the orchestral writing that gets under my skin and K really taps into the more sentimental and inward stretches.

As for the 8th and 9th Symphonies, I enjoy Walter's. I was disappointed in Kertesz, (Lp's are everywhere and a dime a dozen), both recording and IMHO faceless interpretations. Am I missing something? Otherwise, I'm so tired of the works I haven't investigated further.

No love for Kubelik?, posted on October 21, 2021 at 07:56:29

John N
Audiophile

Posts: 1325
Joined: May 10, 2000

I think his recordings of the symphonies are exceptionally fine. Make sure to sample the Symphonic poems. In agreement with Chris, Harnoncourt's recording of the symphonic poems are surprisingly good.
For the Cello concerto, my favorite is Fournier/Szell, although Starker is excellent as well. I also have a soft spot for duPre.
I had the great pleasure to hear Starker perform the Cello concerto live. I don't think I have ever seen a soloist so clearly in love with the piece he was playing.
finally, Neville Marriner's serenade recordings are an excellent antidotes for a stressful day.

Dumky Trio, posted on October 21, 2021 at 08:51:32
oldvinyl Audiophile Posts: 967 Location: Bay Area Joined: June 6, 2000	This is one of my favorites and is very well recorded, considering that it was a mid 70's production on DGG. This is good set of the symphonies, I have the London release. Features London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Istvan Kertesz. Enjoy the music.

oh yes, I am a fan of that set too, posted on October 21, 2021 at 08:53:59
oldvinyl Audiophile Posts: 967 Location: Bay Area Joined: June 6, 2000	Turns out I have several box sets of the symphonies. I would hate to have to vote for a favorite. Enjoy the music.

RE: Dumky Trio, posted on October 21, 2021 at 09:06:03
John N Audiophile Posts: 1325 Joined: May 10, 2000	Thanks for the reminder - that's a very popular pairing. I think I have the LP you showed but will need to go digging. It's been too long since I played the Dumky Trio. Awhile back, it was what I put on when I didn't know what I wanted to listen to.

Those are two contrasting performances! [nt] ;-), posted on October 21, 2021 at 10:49:15
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26437 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

Yeah - I would agree that the Kertesz Dvorak Symphonies can be a LITTLE bit on the faceless side, posted on October 21, 2021 at 11:07:04

Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26437
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
Since: February 6, 2012

Maybe you missed my post from years ago wherein I recounted a radio program (done by William Malloch IIRC) done in the mid-60's called "They Remember Dvorak". Malloch travelled to Spillville, Iowa to talk with people who had interacted with Dvorak when he stayed in that town one summer and was working on his Cello Concerto - these people were still alive at the time Malloch made his program. In particular, he talked to one guy who actually heard Dvorak coaching the cellist who was to be the soloist at the premiere of the work. According to the guy Malloch talked to, Dvorak wanted the cello part played fairly strictly, without too much rubato and "rhetoric". As he talked, the guy was getting more and more worked up, until he shouted out, "And he DIDN'T WANT IT PLAYED LIKE ROSTROPOVITCH PLAYS IT!".

Funny! Nevertheless, the guy was an ear-witness, so his evidence has to be respected at least somewhat! ;-)

Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, and Serenades, posted on October 21, 2021 at 11:08:37

pbarach
Audiophile

Posts: 3306
Location: Ohio
Joined: June 22, 2008

Violin Concerto: Mutter/Honeck, Suk/Ancerl, Tetzlaff Storgards

Cello Concerto: Fournier/Szell Berlin, but I "imprinted" on a concert performance by Rostropovich, and his version with Karajan/Berlin comes closest to what I heard. Some think his version with Ozawa is better.

Wind Serenade: Oslo Wind Soloists (Naxos)

String Serenade: Kubelik, English Chamber Orchestra (hard to find but worth the search)

Oh no! : ) , posted on October 21, 2021 at 11:23:37
jdaniel@jps.net	Can't argue with that! In any case, My ears are more attracted to the accompaniment. Contains some of Dvorak's most "intimate" writing, for obvious reasons.

And I still like Reiner/CSO even though they make it sound like Ein Heldenleben! (NT), posted on October 21, 2021 at 12:09:10
Kal Rubinson Reviewer Posts: 12436 Location: New York Joined: June 5, 2002

I loved the Pavel Haas Quartet's Dvorak Qts 12 & 13; also, posted on October 22, 2021 at 04:04:14

John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7799
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000

"I listened to the Pavel Haas Quartet's justly f�ted new coupling of Dvor�k's String Quartets 12 ("American") and 13, Opp.96 and 106 (CD, Supraphon SU 4038-2),"

But it seems to be NLA on CD.

Also, Dvorak's "Golden Spinning Wheel" (Kubelik) has been a favorite for more than 40 years.

I also want to point out that Milstein's earlier monophonic Dvorak Violin Concerto reaches the soul of the music in a way that his famous later stereo one... just doesn't, for me.

I quote myself from Stereophile:

For Deep-Catalog Classical Collectors

An off-the-beaten-path CD recommendation: a collection of monophonic recordings of violinist Nathan Milstein (1904-1992) made by RCA from 1949 to 1951, a nearly forgotten phase of Milstein's career (CD, Naxos Historical 8.110975). The CD includes the Dvor�k Violin Concerto, with Antal Dor�ti and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra; Glazunov's Violin Concerto (which Milstein had performed in the composer's presence in 1923), with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Steinberg; and an Adagio, K.261, and a Rondo, K.373, by Mozart, with Vladimir Golschmann and the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.

Milstein's 1957 stereo recording of the Dvor�k concerto (Steinberg/Pittsburgh SO; Capitol/EMI) is a landmark recording prized on vinyl old or new. I was taken aback at how much more idiomatic and openheartedly expressive I found the Dor�ti/Minneapolis, which predates it by six years. I can't help but think that I now find the 1957 recording lacking in comparison because, perhaps being a labelmate of Heifetz's at RCA had convinced Milstein that he had to amp up the energy level in his playing, if only for competitive and not musical reasons. Or perhaps it was simply a matter of Dor�ti being a better conductor of Dvor�k.

# # #

jm

I have heard Reiner's recordings described by a reviewer once as..., posted on October 22, 2021 at 04:54:59
TWB Audiophile Posts: 7408 Location: Long Beach, California Joined: January 5, 2001	mechanical and lacking feeling... I tend to agree. I don't own a one, and the ones that I did have I sold off...

RE: I have heard Reiner's recordings described by a reviewer once as..., posted on October 22, 2021 at 05:02:52
pbarach Audiophile Posts: 3306 Location: Ohio Joined: June 22, 2008	I don't find Reiner's recordings to be mechanical. Some of my favorites are Verdi Requiem, Beethoven 5-7-9, Scheherazade, Pines of Rome.

We're talking about Dvorak, but Antal Dorati continues to be under appreciated in much repertoire (nt), posted on October 22, 2021 at 06:10:22
John N Audiophile Posts: 1325 Joined: May 10, 2000

Dorati's "New World" on London Phase 4 is for the ages. nt, posted on October 22, 2021 at 06:31:12
John Marks Manufacturer Posts: 7799 Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I. Joined: April 23, 2000	nt

Yes; and the Piano quintet/String quintet (nt), posted on October 22, 2021 at 08:39:51
steve.ott@kctcs.edu Audiophile Posts: 795 Joined: January 16, 2009	Nt

RE: Best Dvorak recordings ?, posted on October 22, 2021 at 22:40:28
flyingdutchman Audiophile Posts: 623 Location: Honolulu Joined: January 25, 2003	Kertesz's Dvorak 9 with the Vienna Phil

RE: Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, and Serenades, posted on October 22, 2021 at 23:07:18

rkw
Audiophile

Posts: 321
Joined: July 12, 2000

>> String Serenade: Kubelik, English Chamber Orchestra (hard to find but worth the search)

It's available for streaming on Qobuz, "Rafael Kubelik, Rare Recordings 1963-1974" DG release. However the CD set seems to be out of print.

Kubelik Rare Recordings 1963-1974 program book

Thanks to all. (nt, posted on October 25, 2021 at 12:59:25
peppy m. Audiophile Posts: 2236 Joined: February 19, 2021	.

Classical Court

Best Dvorak recordings ?

72.36.1.26