Review: Dvořák's Many Loves, Lovingly Presented
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- čas přidán 30. 11. 2021
- This three-disc sampler, entitled "The Many Loves of Antonín Dvořák, offers an intelligently curated selection of the widest range of the great man's works; and make no mistake, he did a lot more than you might suspect. Moreover, he did it all extremely well. Much of the music here will be unfamiliar: excerpts from operas, choruses, songs, early chamber works, alongside the expected favorites. That makes this set an excellent sampler for those looking to explore Dvořák's extraordinary output in convenient bits, rather than making a major up-front commitment.
Musical Examples courtesy of Supraphon Records.
And while you're listening, you may want to check out ClassicsToday.com's splendid new merchandise store: shop.classicstoday.com - Hudba
I love the 4th Symphony. I wish it was played more often.
Another beautiful set of wonderful music. Gotta love Supraphon!
The song that Dvorak quoted is Hej, Slováci, the text was written in 1834 and the composer is unknown. This song was the anthem of Yugoslavia (1945-1991) and today it's the anthem of Poland. Johann Strauss II qouted also the song in his Slaven Potpourri op. 39.
The genesis of the melody in the Quartet known as the "Dąbrowski Mazurka" are not totally clear; it may originate from one among man generic Polish mazurkas from the mid/late 18th century, however its first acknowleged arrangement was for piano in 1829 by Wojciech Sowinski (as "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego") after its (probable) premiere in July 1797 to a patriotic text by Józef Wybicki with the opening words "Yet is Poland not lost". From from on it gained popularity as the unofficial Polish national anthem and thus by 1918 officially gaining official anthem status by the reformation of the state of Poland.
Thanks for great content !! This set is such a revelation to me, every piece on that set is a gem. Thanks David !
Thanks for featuring "The Rye Field" chorus, which I haven't heard. The Czech choral singing is the best in the world..at least it has been. I'm not sure how the basic sound and tradition are being affected by "global" influences. But the Czech Phil Chorus, the Prague Children's Chorus (now "I Bambini di Praga"), and the Kuhn Chorus (both adult and children's) are without peer in the world. As you know, they were often featured in the great series of Martinu Operas and Cantatas on Supraphon, and thankfully preserved. LR
I know it’s going to be a good day whenever Dave does a Dvorak video! I’m not typically big on a cappella choral music, but that excerpt you played from “In Nature’s Realm” was stunningly imaginative and captivating! Ditto the excerpts you played from the “Poetic Tone Pictures” and Te Deum. It’s shocking how much of Dvorak’s output, particularly his vocal music, is so overlooked. His opera “Dmitrij” is a flat-out masterpiece IMO, but only has like one recording (which is probably out of print)!
I didn't know the Te Deum: It's astonishing. Wow!!! It needs to be played far more often, alongside with Bruckner's and Berlioz's. What a gem!
Glad you got to hear it--really a wonderful piece. There's one other great one from the same period: Verdi's. It often gets forgotten too, but it's a masterpiece as well.
The Supraphon box of sacred works that includes the Te Deum, St. Ludmilla (a 2 hour plus top shelf Dvorak work), the Requiem and the Stabat Mater is well worth getting. It's all good.
@@Don-md6wn Yes, it is.
IMO, The Stabat mater is the masterpiece of his big choral works. Such depth. Such profundity. Check out the Shaw recording, last thing he ever did and it’s just glorious singing.
@@djquinn4212 A marvelous performance.
I discovered your channel not so long ago, sir. And I have to thank you a million! I've been listening to quite a few of your recommendations. And it has been so much fun! I wish you upload a video about Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. Greetings from an Argentinian clarinet player.
I also started with the compilation Golden Opera CD. Heard this beautiful duet in a commercial and went to the classical music store and the lady there already knew which version I meant. Bought the CD and that set the first hooks for liking opera. Until then I only listened to instrumental music because "I did not like the artificial singing style" so I agree with David it is good that there are these kind of compilation CD's. But then again, which young person buys CD's nowadays? I am halfway. I buy physical CD's or download from official websites and then rip and/or rename them so they fit in my digital system so I can play them directly from hard disk. Streaming websites like Tidal, Qobuz are terrible in how they index classical music. They use the pop music 'album/songs/artist' index and for me that does not work. So I keep on buying CD's whenever I hear a "However" by Davd :))
I have corresponded with some people who run online music labels. They all point to Apple as the agent for destroying music metadata. ITunes was the 800lb gorilla that specified how classical music got labelled and anything extra was junked as irrelevant to Apple's business model.
Likewise I've spoken to folks who have created music library software since the 1990s. They've all been "getting around to" making libraries work for classical and jazz but it never rises to action.
I’m not one for this sort of excerpted compilation either. But I’m ALL FOR more exposure of Dvorak’s music to the world. The more the merrier. Hopefully this will pique the interest in hearing more of Dvorak by people, especially youths, unfamiliar with his work.
I agree that Dvorak was (and perhaps still is) undervalued as a masterly or even 'Good' composer. Sometimes the same with Tchaikovsky, who also did masterworks in many genres. Maybe not Chamber music so much.
Have to agree. Terrific if it attracts a few more folks to the world of Dvorak. By the way, I got my Classics Today knit cap delivered the other day. My review: It's GREAT. I love it. No classical music lover should be without one in chilly weather.
Thanks very much for the recommendation. I have mine too.
Great content 👍
About that set of piano pieces "Poetic Tone Pictures". The work is so little known to English-speaking audiences that no one English title has gained universal recognition. And the lack of a universally recognised title makes it harder to get people to remember the work. A kind of Catch-22.
The Czech title is Poetické nálady. That quite literally means "Poetic Moods".
Simrock published the piece with the German title "Poetische Stimmungsbilder". That means "Poetic Mood Pictures". He printed the original Czech title underneath the German. He did not provide an English title for the set in the 1889 edition. The Simrock edition does, however, give German, Czech, and English titles for the individual pieces.
The English translation "Poetic Tone Pictures" is not an exact translation of either of those titles, but I guess it fits. Different publishers use different English titles. I've had to translate for festivals and for Supraphon. Some customers want "Poetic Moods", others want "Poetic Tone Pictures". So, you know, whatever.
I just get annoyed when a customer writes to me complaining about which version I happened to choose.
That Supraphon chose BOTH titles on the same collection shows what a problem it is.
As you already said, alot of this material is in the supraphon Dvorak series of cardboard boxes.......I would like to see that series completed......for example.....they could have a box on opera, on songs, and miscellaneous. And?? Historical, etc......
I agree.
My collection is Supraphon rich. I fell in love with the label back in my LP days. Can I draw your attention to an amazing set of symphonies by Maliszewski on the Polish DUX label. What a discovery!
Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking about discussing them...
Are you going to be reviewing the new Mariss Jansons Edition in the future?
Probably.
Dave, if your videos weren't so good then believe me, we would be calling for them to be a couples of minutes long! This is a great way to discover Dvorak's lesser known works, although usually I view snippet recordings as guilty pleasures - I have a double EMI disc of the slow movements from the Mahler symphonies which I love, as I find his more 'forward thinking' symphonies too heavy going - sorry Mahler fans! Also very brave of you to risk the ire of the die hard Mozart stormtroopers, it's time he was brought down from that god-like pedestal to a common everyday genius! Personally I spend more time listening to Dvorak, Brahms, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, I don't see why that should make the Mozart fanclub sneer.
Just wondering - how many CDs do you have in your collection, Mr Hurwitz?
I have no idea.
Hi David , have you reviewed all ready the ravel bolero? I know its a cliche like music..but imo one needs a light house direction to it,and most of the classical audience like and buy it.. many thanks. Moshe
I have covered it in the Ideal Ravel Orchestral Music video, but not separately. It might be fun, though.
@@DavesClassicalGuide that's exactly what i figured...most of the listeners are intrigued by this strange humoritic piece,but are to ashame to admit it...and after all ,ravel himself hated this joke like music...so thats really an opportunity for your skills to dwelll in it ,even for fun....the only problem ...one million and a half recordings...but im counting on you....
@@moshegoldstein4663 Oh, I wouldn't talk so much about recordings as about the piece itself.
If they wanted to show the Wagnerian influence on Dvorák other than the 4th Symphony slow movement, they should feature the very Lohengrian finale from the 3rd Symphony
I hope you mean the second movement. The finale is a combination scherzo/allegro that couldn't possibly be less Wagnerian.
@@DavesClassicalGuide sorry, I meant Tannhauser (but Lohengrin is not that different). There’s a quite blatant quotation from the Tannhauser overture. 3rd symphony, 3rd movement. The structure isn’t Wagnerian but themes and orchestration… oh, they are
@@adrianosbrandao No, they aren't. Sorry! Not a bit.
@@DavesClassicalGuide OK, no problem at all!
@@DavesClassicalGuide agreed. I find it annoying when people always try to spot the influence of other composers in Dvorak’s music. He was his own man, and it’s about time we start giving him credit for it!
Does "Supraphon" mean something?
What a grand way to end your talk!!
"Bleeding chunks" albums also annoy me. I'm a completist.
Thanks for catering to us white beards who like long videos.
David, could you do a vid on Dvorak's American Flag Cantata. Rarely if ever performed ,and a patriotic delight from start to finish.
Interesting idea but I doubt it. There just aren't enough recordings.