Widely regarded as the most distinguished of Czech composers, Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904) produced attractive and vigorous music possessed of clear formal outlines, melodies that are both memorable and spontaneous-sounding, and a colorful, effective instrumental sense. Dvorák is considered one of the major figures of nationalism, both proselytizing for and making actual use of folk influences, which he expertly combined with Classical forms inRead more works of all genres. His symphonies are among his most widely appreciated works; the Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World," 1893) takes a place among the finest and most popular examples of the symphonic literature. Similarly, his Cello Concerto (1894-1895) is one of the cornerstones of the repertory, providing the soloist an opportunity for virtuosic flair and soaring expressivity. Dvorák displayed special skill in writing for chamber ensembles, producing dozens of such works; among these, his 14 string quartets (1862-1895), the "American" Quintet (1893) and the "Dumky" Trio (1890-1891) are outstanding examples of their respective genres, overflowing with attractive folklike melodies set like jewels into the solid fixtures of Brahmsian absolute forms.
Dvorák's "American" and "New World" works arose during the composer's sojourn in the United States in the early 1890s; he was uneasy with American high society and retreated to a small, predominantly Czech town in Iowa for summer vacations during his stay. However, he did make the acquaintance of the pioneering African-American baritone H.T. Burleigh, who may have influenced the seemingly spiritual-like melodies in the "New World" symphony and other works; some claim that the similarity resulted instead from a natural affinity between African-American and Eastern European melodic structures.
By that time, Dvorák was among the most celebrated of European composers, seen by many as the heir to Brahms, who had championed Dvorák during the younger composer's long climb to the top. The son of a butcher and occasional zither player, Dvorák studied the organ in Prague as a young man and worked variously as a café violist and church organist during the 1860s and 1870s while creating a growing body of symphonies, chamber music, and Czech-language opera. For three years in the 1870s he won a government grant (the Viennese critic Hanslick was among the judges) designed to help the careers of struggling young creative artists. Brahms gained for Dvorák a contract with his own publisher, Simrock, in 1877; the association proved a profitable one despite an initial controversy that flared when Dvorák insisted on including Czech-language work titles on the printed covers, a novelty in those musically German-dominated times. In the 1880s and 1890s Dvorák's reputation became international in scope thanks to a series of major masterpieces that included the Seventh, Eighth, and "New World" symphonies. At the end of his life he turned to opera once again; Rusalka, from 1901, incorporates Wagnerian influences into the musical telling of its legend-based story, and remains the most frequently performed of the composer's vocal works. Dvorák, a professor at Prague University from 1891 on, exerted a deep influence on Czech music of the twentieth century; among his students was Josef Suk, who also became his son-in-law. Read less
Label: Sony
Catalog: 533636
Release Date: 04/07/2017
Number of Discs: 65
Composer:
Richard Wagner,
Richard Strauss,
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Ambroise Thomas
...
Performer:
Oscar Levant,
Robert Casadesus,
Isaac Stern,
Yo-Yo Ma
Conductor:
Willem Mengelberg,
Josef Stransky,
Arturo Toscanini,
Sir John Barbirolli
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
New York Philharmonic
Label: Brilliant Classics
Catalog: 95100
Release Date: 06/30/2015
Number of Discs: 45
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák
Performer:
Rudolf Firkusny,
Ruggiero Ricci,
Zara Nelsova,
Marián Lapsansky
...
Conductor:
Otmar Suitner,
Theodore Kuchar,
Walter Susskind,
Antal Doráti
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Ostrava Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra,
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
...
Label: Hallé
Catalog: 8004
Release Date: 10/14/2014
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák,
Johannes Brahms,
Unspecified,
Sir Edward Elgar
...
Performer:
Heddle [Tenor Vocals] Nash,
Keith Falkner,
Dennis Noble,
Dora Labbette
...
Conductor:
Sir Hamilton Harty,
Leslie Heward,
Sir Malcolm Sargent
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002054802
Release Date: 06/24/2014
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Robert Schumann,
Antonín Dvorák,
Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Helen Donath,
Teresa Berganza,
Wieslaw Ochman,
Thomas Stewart
...
Conductor:
Rafael Kubelik
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Cleveland Orchestra,
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
...
Recommendation
Label: Decca
Catalog: 002033602
Release Date: 04/15/2014
Number of Discs: 12
Composer:
Béla Bartók,
Johannes Brahms,
Anton Bruckner,
Antonín Dvorák
...
Performer:
Walter Berry,
Christa Ludwig,
Pilar Lorengar,
Erzsébet Komlossy
...
Conductor:
István Kertész
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra,
Ambrosian Singers,
Brighton Festival Chorus
...
Recommendation
Label: Rca
Catalog: 541497
Release Date: 04/15/2014
Number of Discs: 60
Composer:
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Claude Debussy,
Jacques Ibert,
Maurice Ravel
...
Performer:
Berj Zamkochian,
John Weicher,
Philip Farkas,
Jascha Heifetz
...
Conductor:
Charles Munch,
Fritz Reiner,
Kiril Kondrashin,
Arthur Fiedler
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Boston Symphony Orchestra,
New England Conservatory Chorus,
New England Conservatory Alumni Chorus
...
Recommendation
Label: Hänssler Classic
Catalog: 93313
Release Date: 01/28/2014
Number of Discs: 10
Composer:
Franz Schubert,
Hector Berlioz,
Felix Mendelssohn,
Anton Bruckner
...
Performer:
Anu Komsi
Conductor:
Roger Norrington
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Radio Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 93739
Release Date: 12/03/2013
Number of Discs: 17
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák,
Modest Mussorgsky,
Benjamin Britten,
César Franck
...
Performer:
Sheila Armstrong,
Anna Reynolds,
Robert Tear,
John Shirley-Quirk
Conductor:
Carlo Maria Giulini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra,
New Philharmonia Orchestra
...
Recommendation
Label: Euroarts
Catalog: 2072244
Release Date: 02/26/2013
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Béla Bartók,
Antonín Dvorák
Performer:
David Breidenthal
Conductor:
Zubin Mehta
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 233472
Release Date: 02/05/2013
Number of Discs: 15
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák,
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,
George Enescu,
Franz Liszt
...
Conductor:
Constantin Silvestri
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris
...
Recommendation
Label: Chandos
Catalog: 24144
Release Date: 07/31/2012
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák,
Johan Halvorsen,
Gustav Mahler,
Johannes Brahms
...
Performer:
Melina Madozzi,
Linda Finnie,
Felicity Lott,
Boris Berman
...
Conductor:
Neeme Järvi
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 4679604
Release Date: 04/26/2011
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák
Performer:
Arto Noras,
Trio Fontenay,
Andras Schiff,
Eva Urbanová
Conductor:
Kurt Masur,
Sakari Oramo,
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
Jiří Bělohlávek
...
Label: Supraphon
Catalog: 4013
Release Date: 10/26/2010
Number of Discs: 10
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Antonín Dvorák,
Leos Janácek
...
Performer:
Jiri Reinberger,
Jan Kalfus,
Miroslav Kejmar,
Zuzana Ruzicková
...
Conductor:
Bohumil Kulínsky,
Jaroslav Krcek,
Milan Munclinger,
Josef Vlach
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Prague Children's Chorus,
Musica Bohemica,
Ars Rediviva
...