Antonín Dvořák
75 products
Dvořák: String Quartet No. 2 / Fine Arts Quartet
The stellar Fine Arts Quartet returns to Naxos with an album of Dvorák gems and surprises. The Second String Quartet is a fascinating example of early experimentation that would foreshadow the modernistic innovations of Schoenberg and his contemporaries. The Bagatelles are heard here in their original instrumentation featuring the harmonium.
REVIEW:
Did Antonín Dvořák suspect that his second string quartet was musically ahead of its time? Was he himself perhaps surprised, even shocked, by its harmonic boldness? Did he not yet feel confident enough as a composer? All of this could explain why the first private performance of the B flat major quartet did not take place until 63 years after it was written – in 1932 – from a reconstructed score. In the meantime, the quartet has been recorded more often than it has been heard in the concert hall.
In its complete recording, the Fine Arts Quartet has now also reached this second string quartet and places it in relation to the Bagatelles op. 47 and the Rondo op. 94.
In both works, the Fine Arts Quartet touchingly captures the Bohemian character, the folk song-like quality that is a basic element in Dvořák’s music. Lots of charm, a soft sound and supple bowing provide the necessary lightness and a slight smile behind the notes.
This grace can also be found in the string quartet – here, however, it comes across more as intimate passion, which is transformed into convincing expressivity through the daring harmonies. Despite the quasi-rhapsodic structure of the work, the Fine Arts Quartet never allows the songfulness of Dvořák’s music to be forgotten by finely differentiating the forward-looking harmonies so that the composition never becomes piecemeal. This also applies to the dance-like moments, which appear again and again and form an exciting symbiosis with Dvořák’s new ideas in this interpretation – in a quartet that also formally dispenses with classical structures.
-- Pizzicato (Guy Engels)
Dvořák: 2 Serenades / Vavřínek, Mardirossian, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice
New Czech recordings of perennially popular serenades from the pen of Dvorak at a turning point in his career, full of freshness, Bohemian charm and flowing melodies. The Serenades for Strings and Winds never get old, and never lose their appeal, especially in the hands of musicians who feel this music in their bones. The opening of the Serenade for Strings issues the warmest welcome to a world poised between the 18th and 19th centuries, looking back in terms of its reassuring character as music for nocturnal entertainment, yet also unmistakably belonging to the Czech composer’s own place and time – Prague, 1875 – with its Bohemian turn of harmony and yearning cantabile. Composed three years later as a counterpart, the Serenade for Winds marks a development in the composer’s technique – more elegant handling of counterpoint and melodic development – from the earlier work. At the same time, the Mozartian air of good-natured humour is even stronger. Both serenades relax into slow movements of poetry without pathos, and each of them was composed within less than a fortnight’s work, testifying to the inspiration felt by the composer as he worked at his material. The melodies seem to come, as Richard Strauss later said of himself, as easily as a cow giving milk.
The Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Pardubice has made several albums of Czech repertoire for Brilliant Classics and Piano Classics, most recently the neglected Piano Concerto of Dvorak (PCL10272), as well as the complete piano concertante works of Chopin with Ekaterina Litvinseva, and the Cello Concerto of Dvorak (95696). The recording was made under studio conditions in the orchestra’s home concert hall, yielding a warm, transparent sound which is ideally suited to these intimate pieces.
Dvorak: Slavonic Dances
Dvořák & Smetana: Bohemian Rhapsodies - Piano Trios / Oliver Schnyder Trio
Oliver Schnyder (piano), and Andreas Jahnke (violin) and Benjamin Nyffenegger (cello) perform Smetana's Piano Trio in G Minor and the famous "Dumky"-Trio by Antonín Dvořák. The Oliver Schnyder Trio made their debut at the Zürich Tonhalle in 2012. Their recording of Schubert’s Piano Trios was hailed “a new benchmark recording” by the magazine Die Bühne and was chosen as “Switzerland’s Best Classical Album of the Year” by the Aargauer Zeitung. This immediate success was confirmed by the recording of Brahms’ complete Piano Trios, which also received great critical acclaim and was given a “Milestone” from Musik & Theater. Past and present concert appearances and festival residences include the SWR Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen, WDR Funkhaus Köln, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Festspiele Baden-Baden, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Schloss Elmau, Meisterzyklus Bern, Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw, Musikdorf Ernen, the Hirzenberg Festival and the festival Universum Beethoven, where they took part in a complete cycle of Beethoven’s Piano Trios at Boswil and Muri, alongside the Trio Jean Paul and the Wanderer Trio.
Dvořák, Penderecki, Schubert, Vivaldi & Pergolesi: Stabat Mater / Wand, Rilling
This new release features poignant soul music for moments of contemplation. Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Catholic hymn to Mary's suffering as Jesus Christ's mother at his crucifixion and has been set to music by many Western composers. This 4 album box presents timeless interpretations of the most important compositions of Stabat Mater. Soloists featured on the release include Margot Guilleaume, Ingeborg Danz, Marta Benackova, Elisabeth Höngen, James Taylor, Thomas Quasthoff and many more.
Dvorak: Symphony No. 7; Scherzo capriccioso
Nocturno
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 / Stutzmann, Atlanta Symphony
The first album from Nathalie Stutzmann as conductor features Dvořák's well known Symphony No. 9" From The New World" and the lesser known American Suite. Nathalie Stutzmann studied conducting with legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula, and has benefited from the mentoring of Simon Rattle and the late Seiji Ozawa. She holds two major posts in the USA - Music Director at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra - and has guest engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayreuth Festival amongst others. Simon Rattle told the NY times: "Nathalie is the real thing. So much love, intensity and sheer technique."
Four Hands - Alexandre Tharaud & Friends
This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.
Lars Vogt - The Complete Warner Classics Edition
Lars Vogt (1970-2022) early recordings collected here provide a document of an artist who always remained authentic, both to himself and to music. Lars Vogt never sought absolute truth, but truthfulness instead meant all the more to him. The man and the artist were always very close, never currying favour and never detached from the world. He was, instead, open and natural. "It's incredibly gratifying when you notice that you can perhaps light a little spark, a little flame for music in people, and when music helps you to find the path to your own soul."
Wolfgang Sawallisch: Complete Symphonic, Lieder & Choral Recordings - Warner Classics Edition, Vol. 1
Antonio Pappano - Complete Santa Cecilia Symphonic,Concertante & Sacred Music Recordings
Pablo Casals - The Complete HMV Recordings 1926-1955
The Catalan cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) was first to bring to wider notice the works that open this set, J.S. Bach's solo cello suites. Thereafter we hear his celebrated partnership with Horszowski in Beethoven and the groundbreaking piano trio formed with Thibaud and Cortot in Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn. From the symphonic repertoire come the concertos by Dvořák (with George Szell) and Elgar (Adrian Boult). Finally, an enchanting disc of encores and - with Casals's own street-band or cobla - seven examples of the sardana, the national dance of the great artist's beloved homeland.
Artemis Quartett - The Complete Recordings 1996-2018
Intense, passionate, and impeccable in its musical disciplines, the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet "consistently finds a balance between projecting musical structure and conveying immediacy." Confirming that verdict from the New York Times is this 23CD collection, encompassing all the recordings the ensemble made between 1996 and 2018.
The Artemis Quartet began life in 1989 and developed a particular reputation in the central Austro-German repertoire. If Beethoven justly asserts a powerful presence, the scope of this collection extends as far as Eastern Europe and South America and well into the 20th century. Over the period of nearly a quarter of a century documented in this box, there were changes in the Artemis Quartet's lineup, but as founding cellist Eckart Runge explains, this "brought new inspiration - an opportunity to broaden horizons and introduce fresh ideas."
The ensemble suffered a tragic loss with the untimely death of violist Friedemann Weigle in 2015. Just days earlier, the Artemis had completed a recording of Dvořák's lyrical and poignant 'American' Quartet; it is now released for the very first time. This landmark box is completed by a comprehensive booklet which includes reminiscences from members of the Artemis Quartet and from sound engineers who collaborated with them.
