Notes and Editorial Reviews
"...Dvorák intended that Symphony No.7 in D minor should be 'capable of shaking the world' Music of tragic intensity, its four movements are generated by inspiration of the highest order, whose nature stemmed directly from the Dvorák's intention to create his most powerful score to date. Yet there is nothing inflated about the symphony, which is scored for the 'standard' orchestra of the day: pairs of woodwind, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. In fact the relatively modest resources intensify the delivery of the musical material and the symphonic argument, with darkly coloured orchestration which is at once imaginative and resourceful.
All these things are abundantly clear in
Read more
the performance the Philharmonia Orchestra and Andrew Davis recorded in July 1979. They are supported by an admirably rich and clear recording. Like any great symphony this music is greater than any one performance of it, and while other conductors (István Kertesz and Libor Pesek, for example) may offer more Czech inflections to the rhythms of the third movement, Davis has the music's measure well enough. Add the quality of the orchestral playing, with the Philharmonia at the top of their form, and this is a most competitive issue.
The Symphony No. 8 can also be recommended with confidence.
-- MusicWeb International, (Reviewing the Dvorak Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 included in this set.)
"Andre Davis's account of the
Seventh has an attractive lyrical freshness; the
Eighth is much more compulsive and dramatically spontaneous, making the most of the music's dynamic contrasts, with high drama in the climaxes of the
Adagio, which also has plenty of expressive feeling, and a sense of vibrant energy throughout the outer movements."
-- Penguin Guide [2003/4 Edition] Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Symphony no 1 in C minor, B 9 "The Bells of Zlonice" by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1869; Bohemia
2.
Symphony no 2 in B flat major, Op. 4/B 12 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1865; Bohemia
3.
Symphony no 3 in E flat major, Op. 10/B 34 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873; Bohemia
4.
Symphony no 4 in D minor, Op. 13/B 41 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1874; Bohemia
5.
Symphony no 5 in F major, Op. 76/B 54 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1875; Bohemia
6.
Symphony no 6 in D major, Op. 60/B 112 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1880; Bohemia
7.
Symphony no 7 in D minor, Op. 70/B 141 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1884-1885; Bohemia
8.
Symphony no 8 in G major, Op. 88/B 163 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1889; Bohemia
9.
Symphony no 9 in E minor, Op. 95/B 178 "From the New World" by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1893; USA
10.
Slavonic Dances (8) for Orchestra, Op. 46/B 83 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1878; Bohemia
11.
Carnival Overture, Op. 92 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1891; USA
12.
Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Rudolf Kempe
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1875; Bohemia
13.
In Nature's Realm Overture, Op. 91 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
David Zinman
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1891; USA
14.
Serenade for Winds in D minor, Op. 44 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Marcel Moyse
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Marlboro Festival Wind Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1878; Bohemia
15.
Scherzo capriccioso, Op. 66/B 131 by Antonín Dvorák
Conductor:
Sir Andrew Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1883; Bohemia
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
