I hope, David, you don’t mind the list of conductors you mentioned: 02:19 Antal Dorati 03:26 George Szell 07:08 Christoph von Dohnányi 07:55 Neemi Jarvi 08:07 Leif Segerstam 10:26 Rafael Kubelik 11:30 Charles Macckeras 12:33 Vaclav Talich 13:29 Vaclav Neumann 13:59 Karel Sejna
A few years ago I ordered (on a whim) a set of the Slavonic Dances with the Czech Phil and a conductor I’d never heard of...Karel Sejna. I was completely bowled over by the interpretations and the sound of the orchestra...especially the oboe and bassoon sound. There were a few times that I laughed out loud while listening to this record. Amazing!!! Why had I never heard of Sejna?!?!?! I second the motion: GET THIS SET! I also adore the Dohnanyi/Cleveland recording. Phenomenally played and recorded.
I feel like the Slavonic dances are really tricky to get into just because like a hand full of composers, Dvořáks pieces are so incredibly broad on how it can be interpreted. They're such beautiful pieces but I feel as if an unfortunate number of conductors just have an incredible difficulty containing Dvořáks energy. They either hold back frustratingly hard, or they just way overkill. Dvořák is a sweat delicate balance of both incredible energy and happiness as well as delicate and touching nature.
Dorati also did a version with the Bamberg Symphony for Vox, circa mid-70s. Great music. Love these things! I miss the old Czech Philharmonic, they were an absolute dream.
Dorati and Bamberg were my first exposure to the dances.In picking it up for two bucks at my University bookstore, I marveled at my bargain - all of the dances on one disc! I enjoyed this recording (Dorati is never less than really really good) but haven’t heard it since my university days. Once I heard Sejna, I realized that everyone else was an also-ran.
Another wonderful recording with the Bamberg Symphony orchestra was that of Rumanian conductor Jonel Perlea. This was my first exposure to the complete series. My only complaint is that he has insufficient abandon in the middle section and coda of no. 11.
You are absolutely right about Karel Sejna !!!! I had never heard of him before but I just did on RUclips after watching your video and it IS the best !! THANK YOU!!!
Well, Dave. Just back from Prague and as I found it difficult to get the Sejna on Amazon UK, I bought it there. You are absolutely right, it is a quite marvellous recording
I have the Szell (stereo) on LP, but my favorite is Mackerras with the Czech Philharmonic. I can only describe it as wonderfully musical and sympathetic. P.S. Rather off-topic (sorry for that), but about Dohnanyi (since you mentioned him), I have his Mahler 9 on CD, and I just love it. Beautifully recorded and played.
I have always loved Szell in these dances probably because his were the first ones I heard. I’ll have to check out Mackerras, but I can recommend him in another Dvorak CD that is one of my favorites: Symphonic Variations, Scherzo cspriccioso, and Legends with the Czech Phil on Supraphon.
Neat. . . The recordings by Kubelik and Talich have been my gold standards for the Slavonic Dances for decades. I'll have to check out the old recording by Dorati.
Brilliant video, and I agree wholeheartedly that these Dances are best experiences from start-to-finish instead of individual pieces. I will have to seek out the mono version of Szell. Sejna will be worth looking into as well. I have only recently found your channel but I can tell it will be a great resource for finding releases and recordings I was unaware of.
Thanks for this. I enjoyd your discussion having just discovered your talks today. I have the Telefunken vinyl set by Neuman (6.35075 ~1974) and the Czech Philharmonic. I should really transcribe to CD as I have a setup that does an excellent job for that and removes any ticks or pops. This 3-LP set includes the 16 dances, the Czech Suite, Holoubek (Wood Dove), the Slavonic Rhapsodie and of course includes a booklet of some program notes in three languages.
Discovered these great pieces today, with kubelik. Loved them immensely. Can you do a talk about brahms Hungarian dances as well? I have never heard the complete piece, only the no. 5 dance, and would love hearing them.
Sejna! Yes! There are a very few works that for me have one performance that makes me not care to hear any other. (Other examples: Honeck’s Dvorak 8th, Fruhbeck de Burgos’ Carmina Burana, Eichhorn’s Hansel und Gretel.) Sejna’s Slavonic Dances is one of those. Thanks, Dave. Your webcasts are fantastic fun!
The late EMG Letter (who a few might remember) docked one star from the Sejna LP in the 1970s because of the poor LP sound quality but enthused about the performances. A rare occurrence for EMG! The LP for which I saved my schoolboy shillings is still in my possession but the CD transfer is so good it is just momento. EMG would now grudgingly give two stars for this great set (their highest accolade).
Watching this episode brings to mind that I own a LaserDisc (remember those?) of the complete Dances performed by the Czech Philharmonic under Zdenek Kosler. Haven't listened to / watched it in decades. I recall being favorably impressed back in the day, but don't know if that was due to its musical value or a mixture of music and visual images. My LD player still functions (or did when I last used it around two years ago. I might fire it up and see what's what, assuming the disc hasn't succumb to laser rot. As to audio disks, mine is BRSO / Kubelik on an early DG CD.
Wonderful final recommendation Dave...I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to Sejna in the 5-7 symphonies of Dvorak and much of his Fibich and Novak...how about Ancerl though?
I don't always rush to buy after one of these videos, but I picked up the Sejna on Supraphon right away. I like Harnoncourt too. Did I miss any comment on Neemi Jarvi, which I also have?
Oh yeees! Sir Charles Mackerras with Czech Philharmonic is one of the best Slavonic Dances set ever recorded...I like also the strangeness of Pletnev on DG and Zdenek Kosler with Slovak Philharmonic on Naxos...
Several years ago, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, under its then chief conductor, Icelandic (albeit based in Germany) Gudni A. Emilsson, performed all 8 dances of the first set, opus 46, in the second-half of a pair of concerts, paired with a first half of orchestrated and arranged Thai traditional music, plus the Glazunov violin concerto; German-Japanese Koh Gabriel Kimura as soloist (plus an encore of the Paganini 24th caprice)... Yay, us---> greetings from its former principal violist, now just a humble back-desk peee-on section player. How well or "idiomatically" we did them is another matter, about which it is difficult to be objective--- seem to recall that one of the later dances, maybe #5 or #6 (-?), already marked to be played very quickly, in performance was taken far faster than in rehearsal, making for a bit of a perilous adventure / white-knuckle ride. Ha! Since that time, under its current Italian chief conductor, Alfonso Scarano, who also has served as the music director of the orchestra in Teplice, in the Czech Republic, has reverted to type in playing individual dances from both sets as encores. Under Scarano, thankfully, though, we have definitely not abandoned Czech music, with appearances in two different seasons of the Janacek Sinfonietta, plus Taras Bulba (Janacek again), and a lovely discovery, the Suk Scherzo Fantastique, opus 25. Of course, the last three Dvorak symphonies have made their appearances: #7 once, #8 three times, and #9 four or five. (!?!) Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19(84-?) panic, late March performances of the Dvorak #6 had to be cancelled. Such a pity... that was to have been conducted by principal guest conductor Claude Villaret of Switzerland. P.S.: I may be a glutton for punishment, hehe, but I believe I have listened to every one of your video reviews. You certainly seem willing to call a spade a spade, as it were... Unfortunately, record / CD collecting is certainly not a realistic habit in Bangkok (aside from the extraordinarily limited selection available for in-store purchase, and the hassle of dealing with Thai customs and import duties, physical space for storage, and budget for purchase, being critical issues, and a CD-player that blew up, or at least started generating considerable amounts of smoke [?¿?], did not help the situation either)... RUclips is therefore definitely a necessary evil here!
David Hurwitz ...but to say it has a „zest” that Szell or Dohnanyi or even more ...that is simply true. Of course - we have our own choices and this is very inspiring. Keep on talking and recording Dave!
I am really a Szell admirer and i like his early set. But I think that Artur Rodzinski (DGG - Westminster) is a great overlooked here. Also in mono. Very spontaneous.
I have to agree about Szell's mono Slavonic Dances being better. One factor might be that the mono Dances were all recorded over two days of sessions, while the stereo Dances were spread over three YEARS, meaning that the stereo version's greater sharpness of execution came at a cost. The stereo version is nothing to sneeze at, but I just got that United Archives box. The mono Dances have greater spirit, more convincing phrasing and greater contrasts between numbers, while yet hanging together better in relation to each other...It passes what I call the "Gramie's kolache" test; I can almost @smell@ the kolache, fresh from my Slovak grandmother's oven.
Totally agree on Sejna. His recording is a knockout. Lets hope Supraphon puts out a comprehensive Sejna edition with better remasterings. I think Kubelik's first attempt with the Vienna Phil on Decca does better justice to the nostalgic mood of the minor key slow dances.
The first LP I bought some time in the 50s was of the Slavonic Dances op 46 conducted by Nicolai Malko. Wonderful! I also remember Maazel conducting some of the dances in a concert at the Royal Festival Hall, not sure when. The performances were dreadful.
There is an Ancerl “Gold” remastering but a Talich “Special” edition. Which one is it David has a problem with, does anybody know? I’m asking since I’ve seriously considered replacing some of my rugged-sounding old Ancerls with the new “Gold” edition. What is your preference?
I know--they were both yellow. It's the "special" that has the problem--the most recent one. Have a look at my review here, with photo, on ClassicsToday.com: www.classicstoday.com/review/review-11883/?search=1 (BTW, ClassicsToday.com is a good resource to answer some of these questions if you feel like checking it out).
If you think Dvořák didn't intend for the initial repeat of No. 15 to include the introduction, see his piano waltz opus 54 no. 4, where he repeats the introduction TWICE (obviously for humorous effect, though this does not mar the beauty of the piece) and his piano furiant Opus 42 no. 2 (a particularly brilliant piece), where, after the middle section, he brings back the introduction in a varied form. Sorry, Szell was wrong, wrong, wrong! In your video about Dvořák's tone poems, you mention his sense of humor. I think this opening is an example of it (similar to that in the aforementioned waltz). Szell ruins the joke and makes this an utterly commonplace repeat. I'm glad that he doesn't seem to have had any imitators.
I grew up with the Šejna recording - it was the very first wonderful LP set my father gave me for Christmas. As far as Bělohlávek is concerned, an earlier 1990s recording exists that IMHO is way better then his later Czech Philharmonic version. The (then) newly founded orchestra later became the Prague Philharmonia and it is still available at www.multisonic.cz/eshop/cd-vazna-hudba/dvorak-slavonic-dances There is also a set by Zdeněk Košler - an unjustly neglected conductor, in my opinion.
The Decca is Very spirited. But, and this is a very big BUT The Vienna Philharmonic is very out of sorts and the great conductor at least at this point of his career did not seem to be able to tame them Stick to the DG set
The Slavonic Dance are his orchestral masterpiece: it's not that the symphonies and the cello concerto aren't masterpieces, the Slavonic Dances are just that transcendent. Also, what about Harnoncourt? I would put that in the absolute top tier with Kubelik/Munich, Sejna, and Dorati/Minneapolis. On recordings, I agree that the 'driven' approach works well, but right before COVID Ivan Fischer did a couple at Geffen with BFO (were you there?) with a much more restrained approach but it was absolutely technicolor in a way that you can only perceive live.
I didn't see Fischer, but I take you at your word. I agree with you too about Harnoncourt--a bit quirky, but in a good way. Thanks for the blog mention, by the way,
I didn't know the Sejna, I ran and streamed it and... oh my, oh my: that's the real deal! All the freshness, all the excitement, all the colors without an ounce of vulgarity. A masterclass in taste. Only problem is: now I have to buy the cd. (Dohnany... always cultivated and nice and everything but I can't help finding him invariably bland and a little bit faceless; my fault, surely)
So glad you liked it! I agree with you, actually, the Dohnanyi often comes across as bland (that's why I hate it Mahler), but is some repertoire he wears very well.
Now I see your comments. My bad. I agree with your comments on the Czech Phil. They would be better off with a Czech principal Conductor. They essentially have slowly ruined their distinctive sound over the years.
No problem. I was just trying to limit myself to recommendable versions. Neumann also did them with the Gewandhaus, for example. The more you look, the more you find!
@@DavesClassicalGuide very true. They are everywhere. I cannot tell you how many of these I have...easily lost count. I have all of the Czech Phil ones you mention...any reasonable person needs to hear them. I hear you on Belohlavek's version. Very tame, although I admit the playing is pretty.
I find the Sejna recording slightly out of balance which detracts me from the music. My ears are very picky. The Neumann tick all the boxes. Better balance and the performance/feeling is on a par with Sejna
The “Dances” are absolutely gorgeous! But their spiritual and commercial “sequel” - the ten “Legends” Dvorák composed for Simrock some years later - are sadly, sadly underrated. They have probably better music than the “Dances”! And virtually nobody listens to them.
Again, Sejna is reigning supreme in the Legends. When will Supraphon wake from its slumber and bring back Sejna, Chalabala, Klima, Krumbholc, Smetacek - all supremely gifted exponents of this repertoire - one wonders.
I hope, David, you don’t mind the list of conductors you mentioned:
02:19 Antal Dorati
03:26 George Szell
07:08 Christoph von Dohnányi
07:55 Neemi Jarvi
08:07 Leif Segerstam
10:26 Rafael Kubelik
11:30 Charles Macckeras
12:33 Vaclav Talich
13:29 Vaclav Neumann
13:59 Karel Sejna
A few years ago I ordered (on a whim) a set of the Slavonic Dances with the Czech Phil and a conductor I’d never heard of...Karel Sejna. I was completely bowled over by the interpretations and the sound of the orchestra...especially the oboe and bassoon sound. There were a few times that I laughed out loud while listening to this record. Amazing!!! Why had I never heard of Sejna?!?!?! I second the motion: GET THIS SET!
I also adore the Dohnanyi/Cleveland recording. Phenomenally played and recorded.
I feel like the Slavonic dances are really tricky to get into just because like a hand full of composers, Dvořáks pieces are so incredibly broad on how it can be interpreted.
They're such beautiful pieces but I feel as if an unfortunate number of conductors just have an incredible difficulty containing Dvořáks energy.
They either hold back frustratingly hard, or they just way overkill. Dvořák is a sweat delicate balance of both incredible energy and happiness as well as delicate and touching nature.
Dorati also did a version with the Bamberg Symphony for Vox, circa mid-70s. Great music. Love these things! I miss the old Czech Philharmonic, they were an absolute dream.
Dorati and Bamberg were my first exposure to the dances.In picking it up for two bucks at my University bookstore, I marveled at my bargain - all of the dances on one disc! I enjoyed this recording (Dorati is never less than really really good) but haven’t heard it since my university days. Once I heard Sejna, I realized that everyone else was an also-ran.
Another wonderful recording with the Bamberg Symphony orchestra was that of Rumanian conductor Jonel Perlea. This was my first exposure to the complete series. My only complaint is that he has insufficient abandon in the middle section and coda of no. 11.
You are absolutely right about Karel Sejna !!!! I had never heard of him before but I just did on RUclips after watching your video and it IS the best !! THANK YOU!!!
Well, Dave. Just back from Prague and as I found it difficult to get the Sejna on Amazon UK, I bought it there. You are absolutely right, it is a quite marvellous recording
So happy you picked my favorite one with Sejna!!!!
I have the Szell (stereo) on LP, but my favorite is Mackerras with the Czech Philharmonic. I can only describe it as wonderfully musical and sympathetic.
P.S. Rather off-topic (sorry for that), but about Dohnanyi (since you mentioned him), I have his Mahler 9 on CD, and I just love it. Beautifully recorded and played.
I have always loved Szell in these dances probably because his were the first ones I heard. I’ll have to check out Mackerras, but I can recommend him in another Dvorak CD that is one of my favorites: Symphonic Variations, Scherzo cspriccioso, and Legends with the Czech Phil on Supraphon.
Neat. . . The recordings by Kubelik and Talich have been my gold standards for the Slavonic Dances for decades. I'll have to check out
the old recording by Dorati.
Brilliant video, and I agree wholeheartedly that these Dances are best experiences from start-to-finish instead of individual pieces. I will have to seek out the mono version of Szell. Sejna will be worth looking into as well. I have only recently found your channel but I can tell it will be a great resource for finding releases and recordings I was unaware of.
Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for this. I enjoyd your discussion having just discovered your talks today. I have the Telefunken vinyl set by Neuman (6.35075 ~1974) and the Czech Philharmonic. I should really transcribe to CD as I have a setup that does an excellent job for that and removes any ticks or pops. This 3-LP set includes the 16 dances, the Czech Suite, Holoubek (Wood Dove), the Slavonic Rhapsodie and of course includes a booklet of some program notes in three languages.
Welcome! Please enjoy.
Discovered these great pieces today, with kubelik. Loved them immensely. Can you do a talk about brahms Hungarian dances as well? I have never heard the complete piece, only the no. 5 dance, and would love hearing them.
Sejna! Yes! There are a very few works that for me have one performance that makes me not care to hear any other. (Other examples: Honeck’s Dvorak 8th, Fruhbeck de Burgos’ Carmina Burana, Eichhorn’s Hansel und Gretel.) Sejna’s Slavonic Dances is one of those. Thanks, Dave. Your webcasts are fantastic fun!
So glad you agree! Thanks for chiming in.
Very good chat. I’ve lived with the stereo Szell for some time but found Sejna online, ordered it immediately. May still get Dohnanyi. Thanks!
You're very welcome.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Got Sejna - it is superb. Never a dull moment, excellently played with a real sense of engagement,
@@barrygray8903 So happy you are enjoying it.
Honestly, I buy all the Sejna recording I can find. Period.
The late EMG Letter (who a few might remember) docked one star from the Sejna LP in the 1970s because of the poor LP sound quality but enthused about the performances. A rare occurrence for EMG! The LP for which I saved my schoolboy shillings is still in my possession but the CD transfer is so good it is just momento. EMG would now grudgingly give two stars for this great set (their highest accolade).
Watching this episode brings to mind that I own a LaserDisc (remember those?) of the complete Dances performed by the Czech Philharmonic under Zdenek Kosler. Haven't listened to / watched it in decades. I recall being favorably impressed back in the day, but don't know if that was due to its musical value or a mixture of music and visual images. My LD player still functions (or did when I last used it around two years ago. I might fire it up and see what's what, assuming the disc hasn't succumb to laser rot. As to audio disks, mine is BRSO / Kubelik on an early DG CD.
Keilberth's recording with the Bamberg Symphony is also fantastic
Wonderful final recommendation Dave...I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to Sejna in the 5-7 symphonies of Dvorak and much of his Fibich and Novak...how about Ancerl though?
Ancerl? Haven't we got enough from the Czech team?
Despite your preference for the Mercury recording, my favourite recording is Dorati with RPO on Decca.
I don't always rush to buy after one of these videos, but I picked up the Sejna on Supraphon right away. I like Harnoncourt too. Did I miss any comment on Neemi Jarvi, which I also have?
No Jarvi is typically enthusiastic but kind of messy, I think.
Oh yeees! Sir Charles Mackerras with Czech Philharmonic is one of the best Slavonic Dances set ever recorded...I like also the strangeness of Pletnev on DG and Zdenek Kosler with Slovak Philharmonic on Naxos...
Kosler, certainly, but Pletnev? No way!
Several years ago, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, under its then chief conductor, Icelandic (albeit based in Germany) Gudni A. Emilsson, performed all 8 dances of the first set, opus 46, in the second-half of a pair of concerts, paired with a first half of orchestrated and arranged Thai traditional music, plus the Glazunov violin concerto; German-Japanese Koh Gabriel Kimura as soloist (plus an encore of the Paganini 24th caprice)...
Yay, us---> greetings from its former principal violist, now just a humble back-desk peee-on section player. How well or "idiomatically" we did them is another matter, about which it is difficult to be objective--- seem to recall that one of the later dances, maybe #5 or #6 (-?), already marked to be played very quickly, in performance was taken far faster than in rehearsal, making for a bit of a perilous adventure / white-knuckle ride. Ha!
Since that time, under its current Italian chief conductor, Alfonso Scarano, who also has served as the music director of the orchestra in Teplice, in the Czech Republic, has reverted to type in playing individual dances from both sets as encores. Under Scarano, thankfully, though, we have definitely not abandoned Czech music, with appearances in two different seasons of the Janacek Sinfonietta, plus Taras Bulba (Janacek again), and a lovely discovery, the Suk Scherzo Fantastique, opus 25. Of course, the last three Dvorak symphonies have made their appearances: #7 once, #8 three times, and #9 four or five. (!?!) Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19(84-?) panic, late March performances of the Dvorak #6 had to be cancelled. Such a pity... that was to have been conducted by principal guest conductor Claude Villaret of Switzerland.
P.S.: I may be a glutton for punishment, hehe, but I believe I have listened to every one of your video reviews. You certainly seem willing to call a spade a spade, as it were... Unfortunately, record / CD collecting is certainly not a realistic habit in Bangkok (aside from the extraordinarily limited selection available for in-store purchase, and the hassle of dealing with Thai customs and import duties, physical space for storage, and budget for purchase, being critical issues, and a CD-player that blew up, or at least started generating considerable amounts of smoke [?¿?], did not help the situation either)... RUclips is therefore definitely a necessary evil here!
Thank you for this survey - great one again...What do you think about Harnoncourt with COE - fantastic version in my humble opinion ...?
I love Harnoncourt as well--a few oddities, but they work--but to say it has a "zest" that Sejna does not is simply not true.
David Hurwitz ...but to say it has a „zest” that Szell or Dohnanyi or even more ...that is simply true. Of course - we have our own choices and this is very inspiring. Keep on talking and recording Dave!
At least two conductors played them all in one concert, Sawallish with Czech Philharmonic in 1990s and Hrusa with Philharmonia orchestra last year.
How nice! And only two decades apart!
Well OK!! I agree with your other picks so now I’ll just HAVE spring for the Sejna!!!! You are very detrimental to my retirement accounts.
I am really a Szell admirer and i like his early set. But I think that Artur Rodzinski (DGG - Westminster) is a great overlooked here. Also in mono. Very spontaneous.
Agreed.
I have to agree about Szell's mono Slavonic Dances being better. One factor might be that the mono Dances were all recorded over two days of sessions, while the stereo Dances were spread over three YEARS, meaning that the stereo version's greater sharpness of execution came at a cost. The stereo version is nothing to sneeze at, but I just got that United Archives box. The mono Dances have greater spirit, more convincing phrasing and greater contrasts between numbers, while yet hanging together better in relation to each other...It passes what I call the "Gramie's kolache" test; I can almost @smell@ the kolache, fresh from my Slovak grandmother's oven.
I have the Szell big box! A treasure!
Hell yeah!
Totally agree on Sejna. His recording is a knockout. Lets hope Supraphon puts out a comprehensive Sejna edition with better remasterings. I think Kubelik's first attempt with the Vienna Phil on Decca does better justice to the nostalgic mood of the minor key slow dances.
The first LP I bought some time in the 50s was of the Slavonic Dances op 46 conducted by Nicolai Malko. Wonderful! I also remember Maazel conducting some of the dances in a concert at the Royal Festival Hall, not sure when. The performances were dreadful.
There is an Ancerl “Gold” remastering but a Talich “Special” edition. Which one is it David has a problem with, does anybody know? I’m asking since I’ve seriously considered replacing some of my rugged-sounding old Ancerls with the new “Gold” edition. What is your preference?
I know--they were both yellow. It's the "special" that has the problem--the most recent one. Have a look at my review here, with photo, on ClassicsToday.com: www.classicstoday.com/review/review-11883/?search=1 (BTW, ClassicsToday.com is a good resource to answer some of these questions if you feel like checking it out).
If you think Dvořák didn't intend for the initial repeat of No. 15 to include the introduction, see his piano waltz opus 54 no. 4, where he repeats the introduction TWICE (obviously for humorous effect, though this does not mar the beauty of the piece) and his piano furiant Opus 42 no. 2 (a particularly brilliant piece), where, after the middle section, he brings back the introduction in a varied form. Sorry, Szell was wrong, wrong, wrong! In your video about Dvořák's tone poems, you mention his sense of humor. I think this opening is an example of it (similar to that in the aforementioned waltz). Szell ruins the joke and makes this an utterly commonplace repeat. I'm glad that he doesn't seem to have had any imitators.
Everybody does the introduction repeat , excluding George Szell.
But.......Joseph Keilberth with the Bamberger also omits the intro ! ( The Bamberger largely originating from Prague )
@@hansdekorver7365 Jonel Perlea, also with the Bamberger, includes it.
I grew up with the Šejna recording - it was the very first wonderful LP set my father gave me for Christmas.
As far as Bělohlávek is concerned, an earlier 1990s recording exists that IMHO is way better then his later Czech Philharmonic version. The (then) newly founded orchestra later became the Prague Philharmonia and it is still available at www.multisonic.cz/eshop/cd-vazna-hudba/dvorak-slavonic-dances
There is also a set by Zdeněk Košler - an unjustly neglected conductor, in my opinion.
The Kosler (Naxos) is very good too.
Do you have an opinion on Kubelik with the Vienna Phil on Decca in early stereo?
The Decca is Very spirited. But, and this is a very big BUT
The Vienna Philharmonic is very out of sorts and the great conductor at least at this point of his career did not seem to be able to tame them
Stick to the DG set
The Slavonic Dance are his orchestral masterpiece: it's not that the symphonies and the cello concerto aren't masterpieces, the Slavonic Dances are just that transcendent. Also, what about Harnoncourt? I would put that in the absolute top tier with Kubelik/Munich, Sejna, and Dorati/Minneapolis.
On recordings, I agree that the 'driven' approach works well, but right before COVID Ivan Fischer did a couple at Geffen with BFO (were you there?) with a much more restrained approach but it was absolutely technicolor in a way that you can only perceive live.
I didn't see Fischer, but I take you at your word. I agree with you too about Harnoncourt--a bit quirky, but in a good way. Thanks for the blog mention, by the way,
Wholly agreed, but a side note, have you heard of many of his symphonic poems? A Heros song has the same fantastic energy
I didn't know the Sejna, I ran and streamed it and... oh my, oh my: that's the real deal! All the freshness, all the excitement, all the colors without an ounce of vulgarity. A masterclass in taste. Only problem is: now I have to buy the cd.
(Dohnany... always cultivated and nice and everything but I can't help finding him invariably bland and a little bit faceless; my fault, surely)
So glad you liked it! I agree with you, actually, the Dohnanyi often comes across as bland (that's why I hate it Mahler), but is some repertoire he wears very well.
Now I see your comments. My bad. I agree with your comments on the Czech Phil. They would be better off with a Czech principal Conductor. They essentially have slowly ruined their distinctive sound over the years.
No problem. I was just trying to limit myself to recommendable versions. Neumann also did them with the Gewandhaus, for example. The more you look, the more you find!
@@DavesClassicalGuide very true. They are everywhere. I cannot tell you how many of these I have...easily lost count. I have all of the Czech Phil ones you mention...any reasonable person needs to hear them. I hear you on Belohlavek's version. Very tame, although I admit the playing is pretty.
In these works, Szell sounds more spontaneous and inspired than on his Dvorak symphonies recordings.
That's debatable, but I take your point.
I suspect that if they were called Dvorak's Symphonic Dances, then they'd get programmed more often.
I find the Sejna recording slightly out of balance which detracts me from the music. My ears are very picky. The Neumann tick all the boxes. Better balance and the performance/feeling is on a par with Sejna
The “Dances” are absolutely gorgeous! But their spiritual and commercial “sequel” - the ten “Legends” Dvorák composed for Simrock some years later - are sadly, sadly underrated. They have probably better music than the “Dances”! And virtually nobody listens to them.
I agree--it's a crime. We'll get to them!
Again, Sejna is reigning supreme in the Legends. When will Supraphon wake from its slumber and bring back Sejna, Chalabala, Klima, Krumbholc, Smetacek - all supremely gifted exponents of this repertoire - one wonders.