Search - Antonin Dvorak, Václav Neumann, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra :: Dvorák Czech Suite: Hussite Overture; My Home; Nocturne In B major; Scherzo capriccioso

A magisterial concert from Neumann and Czech Philharmonic

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 07/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic demonstrate again here why they were one of the best combinations in Dvoark's orchestral music. This attractive collection constitutes a 72-minute CD that shows off Dvoraks's dramatic, national and bucolic natures in idiomatic and compelling performances.



Dvorak composed the Czech Suite for orchestra in D major after he had gained some fame for his Slavonic dances and rhapsodies. It was first performed in May 1879, was exceptionally well-recieved, and has been a staple of his repertoire ever since. Its five alternately delightful and playful movements are prelude, polka, minuet, romance and a brilliant finale marked "furiant". I once owned a recording where this was mated to the composer's Wind Serenade; I think it is far better placed kicking off this all-orchestral program.



Dvorak wrote the "Hussite" Overture in 1881 for the occasion a new national theater beign opened. Its Czech topic was a 15th century Christian movement that became a forerunner to the Protestant Reformation. The Hussites have been the subject of numerous Czech composers and Dvorak had previously written about them for the stage. The dramatic 13 1/2 minute overture -- built on a theme that the Hussites are warriors of God -- recalls the symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 in its range of expression and drama.



"My Home" was originally one of nine compositions about the composer's homeland. While the others have passed into obscurity, the overture on national Czech themes, which is of about half the duration of "The Hussites", continues as a mainstay in Dvorak's repertoire and is regulalry recorded. The near 9-minute Notturno in B major, written first as part of a string quartet, is constructed on few themes, is genuinely reflective in nature, and is the earliest composition (1875) on this concert.



Finally, the CD closes with a riveting performance of Dvoark's noble Scherzo Capriccioso Op. 66, a 15 minute episode the composer intended to be a lighthearted break from the drama of his previous composition, the Piano Trio in F minor Op. 65. The notes tell us this: "...but the troubled mood that pervaded Dvorak's spirit at the time eventually surfaced here...evoking expressions of resistance and acceuntuated determination." There's all that and more in this performance.



Recorded variably from 1969-82 and remastered via 24 bit resolution in 2005, the sound on these recordings is always listenable but never up to current 21st century standards. The playing and interpretation, however, is characteristically Dvorakian and rarely bettered. Anyone that's heard the late Dvoark symphonies and perhaps the string or wind serenades and wants to expand their knowledge of the composer could do much worse than acquiring this concert. I find it remarkably entertaining and always sympathetic to Dvorak's varying tunefulness, imagination, and moods.

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