Dvorák Slavonic Dances
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Antonín Dvořák
Label: Supraphon
Magazine Review Date: 8/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 74
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 11 0081-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (16) Slavonic Dances |
Antonín Dvořák, Composer
Antonín Dvořák, Composer Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Václav Neumann, Conductor |
Author: John Steane
Pure enjoyment. Recorded in the House of Artists, Prague in 1985, one wonders why this disc has taken so long to reach the shops over here.
This is Neumann's second recording of the complete Dances. The 1972 Teldec set has Nos. 1–8 (B83) and Nos. 9–16 (B147) on two separate CDs coupled with theSlavonic Rhapsodies. This earlier set and Kubelik's 1975 DG versions (recently reissued together on a single mid-price CD) have led the field for over a decade. If you already possess the earlier Neumann accounts, there is no need to rush out and buy this new one. Neumann is very consistent, with a slight quickening of pace for some of the Dances on the new recording. Furthermore, the Teldec engineering still satisfies—bright and airy, the orchestra closer than on both the DG and the new Supraphon, the triangle excessively so (this may seem a small point, but Dvorak's use of it is fairly liberal). The new recording has better blended woodwind voices and a wider range of dynamics, but the violins are a bit thin above the stave.
Neumann, whose orchestra obviously relishes the opportunity to show the rest of the world that the music is in their bones, takes a fresh, direct view of these pieces. Kubelik, by contrast, whilst never unidiomatic, uses rubato more freely, encourages more vibrato from his strings in the lyrical dances (his first and second violins are separated across the stage), and drives the Furiants, particularly, with an unrivalled energy. Lest this implies that Neumann is dull, that is certainly not the case. At marginally slower speeds than Kubelik, the playing often has a keener edge, and the Czech woodwinds are sweeter-toned than the Bavarians. The Czech horns are more powerfully prominent in the mournful refrain of No. 12's Dumka, and their trilling in No. 6 (after fig. 9) is wonderful.
I'm not going to make a choice between the two—broadly speaking, Kubelik is more stylish and imaginative (and cheaper); Neumann is fresher, more the rustic.'
This is Neumann's second recording of the complete Dances. The 1972 Teldec set has Nos. 1–8 (B83) and Nos. 9–16 (B147) on two separate CDs coupled with the
Neumann, whose orchestra obviously relishes the opportunity to show the rest of the world that the music is in their bones, takes a fresh, direct view of these pieces. Kubelik, by contrast, whilst never unidiomatic, uses rubato more freely, encourages more vibrato from his strings in the lyrical dances (his first and second violins are separated across the stage), and drives the Furiants, particularly, with an unrivalled energy. Lest this implies that Neumann is dull, that is certainly not the case. At marginally slower speeds than Kubelik, the playing often has a keener edge, and the Czech woodwinds are sweeter-toned than the Bavarians. The Czech horns are more powerfully prominent in the mournful refrain of No. 12's Dumka, and their trilling in No. 6 (after fig. 9) is wonderful.
I'm not going to make a choice between the two—broadly speaking, Kubelik is more stylish and imaginative (and cheaper); Neumann is fresher, more the rustic.'
Dvorák Slavonic Dances
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