Josef Bohuslav Foerster - Cyrano de Bergerac; Shakespeare Suite (Václav Smetáček)

Information

Composer: Josef Bohuslav Foerster

• Cyrano de Bergerac, Op. 55
• Shakespeare Suite, Op. 76

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Prague Symphony Orchestra

Václav Smetáček, conductor

Date: 1996

Label: Supraphon

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Review

A man of wide artistic tastes and talents, Foerster was more than once captivated by the idea of setting dramatic ideas or portraits to music. Rostand's Cyrano touched him for the hero's predicament as he woos Roxane on another's behalf; the involvement with Shakespeare was more complicated. The brief note for this record says little, but Foerster's sympathetic autobiography Der Pilger (published in 1955, after his death) describes how he imagined it first as a sequence portraying Imogen, Cordelia, Hamlet, Lear and Shylock. Then he bethought him of Perdita, and touched by her 'winter's tale' he found his characters forming themselves into a new pattern in which music (he invokes Schopenhauer) might express the inner nature of four aspects of love. Perdita remains the most vivid characterization of the four: she is lively, and forlorn yet merry. The others are Viola, a warm portrayal in rich orchestral garb, then Lady Macbeth, whose corrosion of love perhaps lies too far outside the experience of this gentle composer, and finally a movement entitled ''Katherine, Petruchio and Eros'', cheerfully rounding off an agreeable and expertly composed work.

The Cyrano de Bergerac suite is rather less original, though Foerster's warm, late-romantic manner is affectingly deployed: there is something of Elgar, of Mahler, of Strauss, to name obvious names, but though Foerster is of their world, he is no imitator. Listeners who feel at home in such a world and who know nothing of Foerster might like to try this record. It will produce no revelations, but music that is this sympathetic and well-made is not so common that we can afford to ignore it. It is excellently played here, and warmly recorded.'

— John Warrack

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Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer educated at the Prague Conservatory, where he later became a professor and director. He served as an organist and music critic in Prague, Hamburg, and Vienna. From 1893 to 1903, he lived in Hamburg, befriending Gustav Mahler and teaching at the conservatory. Foerster composed primarily for chorus and solo voice, often using religious texts. His works include five symphonies and operas such as Nepřemoženi, Srdce, and Bloud. While influenced by Mahler's Romanticism, his lyrical style reflects the legacy of Dvořák and Smetana.

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Václav Smetáček (30 September 1906 – 18 February 1986) was a Czech conductor and oboist. He studied at the Prague Conservatory and at Charles University. In 1928, he founded the Prague Wood-Wind Quintet, performing with it for 27 years. He played with the Czech Philharmonic (1930–1933) and worked at Czech Radio as a conductor and editor (1934–1943). From 1945 to 1966, he taught at the Conservatory and Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. As a conductor he won international recognition. He guest-conducted a number of European orchestras, promoting Czech music and operas.

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