Antonín Dvořák - Overtures; Symphonic Poems (Rafael Kubelík)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

CD1

1. My Home, Op. 62
2. The Hussite Song, Op. 67
3. Amid Nature, Op. 91
4. Carnival, Op. 92
5. Othello, Op. 93
6. The Water Goblin, Op. 107

CD2

1. The Noonday Witch, Op. 108
2. The Golden Spinning Wheel, Op. 109
3. The Wood Dove, Op. 110
4. Symphonic Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 78

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Rafael Kubelík, conductor

Date: 1974; 1976

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

These reissues are indeed opportune. Comparison at almost any point with the recent Gregor set on Supraphon/Koch International reveals Kubelik as the more imaginative, stylish and exuberant Dvorakian, and DG's 1970s sound as more vivid with a fuller string tone. If that were not enough, the latter set retails at two-thirds of the price and finds room for the Symphonic Variations and the My home and Hussite Overtures. ''Well, hang it all, what do you say to that?'' as Dvorak wrote to his publisher, Simrock, in 1887.

The context of that remark was a plea for Simrock to publish his Symphonic Variations. Listening to some portentous versions of the Variations one wonders what it was that appealed to London audiences in 1887 and caused Richter to claim ''no new work has ever had such a success as yours''. To those in favour of a more Brahmsian approach Kubelik may appear to be, at times, indecently hasty, but in fact he adheres exactly to Dvorak's metronome markings. I can only say that he removed, for me, a few serious reservations about this piece.

Basically, little of this music is as performance-proof as the late symphonies and knowing when to keep the music on the move is the prime secret of Kubelik's success. There's a Hussite Overture that avoids bombast and offers instead an invigorating whirl of patriotic fervour, a Carnival that fairly sizzles with excitement, and an explosive Othello Overture that, unlike Gregor's, has dramatic thrust and momentum as well as tragic weight. Yet Kubelik rarely presses forward where articulation would be impaired. How much clearer are the woodwind figures here in the noon witch's opening domestic idyll than on Jarvi's (otherwise excellent) Chandos set of the symphonic poems.

The gruesome goings on of the symphonic poems find Kubelik revelling in the dramatic opportunities. In his hands this music never sounds episodic. And the startling clarity of the sound, abetted by his separated violin desks, allows you to enjoy all of Dvorak's many magical, and frequently prophetic, orchestral effects. Some of Kubelik's finest work on record.

— John Steane

-----------------------------------------------------------

Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. He was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition, after Bedřich Smetana. Following Smetana's nationalist example, many of Dvořák's works show the influence of Czech folk music, such as his  two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and the overwhelming majority of his songs. Dvořák wrote in a variety of forms: nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, more than 40 works of chamber music, and piano music.

***

Rafael Kubelík (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech-born conductor and composer. Kubelík was music director of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1941–48), the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1950–53), The Royal Opera, Covent Garden (1955–58), and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1961–79). He was also a frequent guest conductor for leading orchestras in Europe and America. Kubelík's complete discography is enormous, with complete cycles of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák, and Mahler symphonies. As a composer, Kubelík wrote 5 operas, 3 symphonies, chamber music, choral works, and songs.

-----------------------------------------------------------