Dvorák: Piano Concerto, Op. 33; The Water Goblin, Op. 107

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Dvorák's sole piano concerto has gotten a bad rap, largely because the composer himself was not a pianist and the work was not championed in his lifetime by any great virtuoso (except in a heavily edited version in which the piano part was changed to make it sound more like Liszt). This is the original version, thank God, and it's a very good performance--grave and intense--that makes an excellent case for the piece. The coupling is also very fine, and at Naxos's budget price, there's no risk in giving it a listen. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

breakdown by cd........2007-01-14

CD1-7:SYMPHONIES 1-9

CD8:PIANO CONCERTO

CD9:VIOLIN CONCERTO & CELLO CONCERTO

CD10-11:REQUIEM

CD12-13:STABAT MATER

CD14:PIANO TRIOS OP.90 "DUMKY" & 21

CD15:PIANO TRIOS OP.65 & 26

CD16:PIANO QUARTETS

CD17:PIANO QUINTETS

CD18:STRING QUINTETS

CD19-20:MUSIC FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO

C21:SERENADE/HAUSMUSIK

CD22-31:THE COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS

CD32:SLAVONIC DANCES OP.46 & 72

CD33:PIANO DUET SLAVONIC DANCES

CD34:PIANO DUET LEGENDS FROM THE BOHEMIAN FOREST

CD35:PIANO WORKS

CD36-37:RUSALKA

CD38-40:SYMPHONIC POEMS

I'm not a music expert.......2005-08-25

I don't know too much about music. I own over 700 cds, but I don't play music and I don't have much experience with this music. My only point of reference was the ninth symphony, seeing as every other piece in this box set was new to me. It sounds fine, nothing wrong with it as far as I can see.

Now, here's what you'll get in this box set, seeing as Amazon does not give it a description. 40 cds! no joke, you get 40 cds in this box set. It features:
1. Complete symphonies
2. Complete symphonic poems
3. Cello concerto
4. Piano concerto
5. Violin concerto
6. Requiem
7. Stabat Mater
8. Slavonic Dances
9. Complete String quartets
10. Chamber music
11. Piano Works (solo and duet)
12. Rusalka

As far as I can tell, the only things missing are The Spectre's Bride and Jacobin. Seeing as it is 40 cds, i have not had an opportunity to listen to it, however what i have heard i have been quite satisfied with.

Dvorák: Piano Concerto, Op. 33; The Water Goblin, Op. 107

Average customer rating:

good playing
Excellent performances of little-known works
A Dvorak Piano Concerto? Yes, it actually is quite a find.
Underrated And Excellent

Dvorák: Piano Concerto, Op. 33; The Water Goblin, Op. 107

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Slavonic Dances / Overtures & Symphonic Poems

ASIN: B000001404
Release Date: 1994-10-04

Tracks:

Allegro Agitato
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro Con Fuoco
The Water Goblin (Vodnik), Symphonic Poem, Op. 107

Amazon.com

Dvorák's sole piano concerto has gotten a bad rap, largely because the composer himself was not a pianist and the work was not championed in his lifetime by any great virtuoso (except in a heavily edited version in which the piano part was changed to make it sound more like Liszt). This is the original version, thank God, and it's a very good performance--grave and intense--that makes an excellent case for the piece. The coupling is also very fine, and at Naxos's budget price, there's no risk in giving it a listen. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

good playing.......2005-10-14

The piano concerto is probably Dvorak's most obscure concerto. This version is acceptable. I thought the solo piano was excellent but unfortunately a bit distant on this recording. The other instrumental solos seem somewhat distant as well. Talking about the piece itself my opinion is that it is less successful than either Dvorak's very fine cello concerto or his highly appealing violin concerto. Having said that however it is still a great composition with many pleasant passages particularly in the excellent third movement. I thought Jando's work on this was really good but I wish I could hear it all clearly here. Occasionally the orchestra overwhelmed the piano but that is the only drawback I see with this CD.

Excellent performances of little-known works.......2004-02-18

Many will be surprised to learn that Dvorak has actually written a piano concerto. Listening to it, however, will bring them back to familiar territory: all of his symphonic works' chief characteristics are present here, including deceptively simple themes, a constant battle between major and minor tones, and a preference for expressiveness over pure virtuosity. In other words, it is everything the notion of a Dvorak piano concerto promises to be, and the elaborate first movement (lasting about 20 minutes) might be the most impressive. Comparisons with Brahms have been suggested; among Dvorak's other contemporaries, I would personally mention the concertos of Saint-Saens and Grieg as interesting connections, although the piece is Dvorak's alone. Completing this recording is The Water Goblin, the first of five symphonic poems Dvorak composed in 1896-1897; listeners with a taste for his beautiful orchestral Legends (op. 59) will certainly appreciate this late, evocative work. The excellent performances make this release even more of a success.

A Dvorak Piano Concerto? Yes, it actually is quite a find........2003-08-24

Poor Antonin Dvorak. A rich benefactress brought him to New York to be director of a national conservatory, founded primarily by her fortune. Obviously, she hoped that his leadership, not to mention his shining example, would inspire a worthwhile kind of American ... meaning U.S.A. ... classical music. That dream seems to have had to wait a few years, until people like Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland, and others grew up enough to go to Europe and study with the beloved grande dame, Nadia Boulanger, in Paris. Meanwhile, Dvorak claimed considerable attention and success with his ninth symphony. The word on his piano concerto, however, was not so good. Many people ... including a lot of very good pianists ... damned it with faint praise. Just not written in a suitably pianistic style, was the common and much-repeated judgment. Nobody wanted to exactly blame Dvorak for trying to write a piano concerto, but it was easily suggested that since he didn't play piano himself, it was no wonder he just didn't get it right. A famous friend, whose exact name escapes me at the moment ... Jilek? ..., stepped in to help by putting out an edition of the work that jazzed up the piano parts a bit, while leaving the genius of the orchestral music intact. Still, this hybrid version didn't win many fans either. So the work has languished, around the edges of the central repertoire, occasionally being revived ... but nobody can particularly remember when they actually heard it last. Into this fog of half-truths, and poorly played performances, enter the outstanding Hungarian pianist Jeno Jando, accompanied by conductor Antoni Wit and the Polish radio orchestra. Well, some days they say, everything just goes fine in a recording session. This Cd must have been recorded on one of those rare days. The pacing and exposition by both the pianist and the orchestra are completely exemplary. In fact, while I own and enjoy quite a few good recordings from the growing Naxos catalogue, I would nominate this one as the very best recording, and very best performance, that they have managed to capture to date. In Jando's poetic hands, the Dvorak concerto begins to sound like a long-lost sibling, from a later generation, of the justly famous Schumann piano concerto family. While Dvorak stays completely true to his own identity and musical style, his piano concerto sounds completely winning and musical. Never once, and I believe Mr. Jando is playing the original version of the keyboard part, not the hybrid later edition; do you wish there were more, or less, or any other kind of notes, other than the exact ones Dvorak wrote. Fully caught up in this amazing moment, the Polish orchestra do themselves equally proud, led by Antoni Wit. Just as the Schumann is a challenging concerto to play, by virtue of its musical demands for balancing angels on the heads of pins, so with the Dvorak it would seem. The Olympian simplicities that both concertos require are supremely difficult to achieve. What sheer virtuosity can render flashy and empty in Schumann's and in Dvorak's piano concertos, a solid but invisible technique may yet accomplish, allied as it is in the case of Mr. Jando's playing, with a superb sense of articulation and poetry. Well, for the price, you can hardly get anything like this, anywhere else. The tone poem that the orchestra recorded to fill out the Cd also goes extremely well. Bravos, all round. That day at the recording studio was really something, and since anyone can own this CD, anyone can be there as it happens. The ghost of Czech master pianist, Rudolf Firkusny, is probably smiling broadly about now. He took it upon himself to tirelessly advocate for the Dvorak concerto. Mr. Firkusny was certain that its day would come. And with this recording, that day has finally arrived. Add this Cd to your collection, soon. Listen to it. Then pat yourself on the back for being such a shrewd and uncommonly alert customer. If Mr. Jando comes to town to play in your area, carry it back stage for him to autograph. I think he will. You only have to ask him. Highly recommended. Highly.

Underrated And Excellent.......2000-03-21

What do you call the most underrated piece of music by one of the classics' most underrated composers? Dvorak's piano concerto is what. Very enjoyable is what. Typical excellence from Jeno Jando makes this a real winner. Naxos work in all areas of Dvorak's compositions deserve the highest praise...and this just adds another jewel to the crown.

Dvorák: The Complete Published Orchestral Works

Average customer rating:

20 Hours of Dvorak at a Bargain Price

Dvorák: The Complete Published Orchestral Works

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001FYRB2
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Tracks:

Allegro
Adagio Molto
Allegretto
Finale: Allegreto
Allegretto
Molto Moderato
Allegro Giusto
Molto Maestoso
Allegro Giusto

Tracks:

Allegretto
Poco Adagio
Scherzo: Allegro Con Brio
Finale: Allegreto Con Fuoco
Allegro Con Moto
Allegretto Grazioso
Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
Andante Con Moto
Andante

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Adagio Molto, Temp Di Marcia
Allegro Vivace
Allegro Non Tanto
Adagio
Scherzo: Furiant: Presto
Finale: Allegro Con Spirito

Tracks:

Allegro
Andante Sostenuto E Molto Cantabile
Scherzo: Allegro Feroce
Finale: Allegro Con Brio
Allegro Con Brio
Adagio
Allegretto Grazioso - Molto Vivace
Allegro, Ma Non Troppo

Tracks:

Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
Andante, Con Moto
Andante Con Moto, Quasi L'istesso Tempo - Allegro Scherzando
Finale: Allegro Molto
Allegro Maestoso
Poco Adagio
Scherzo Vivace - Poco Meno Mosso
Finale: Allegro

Tracks:

Adagio- Allegro Molto
Largo
olto Vivace
Allegro Con Fuoco
Sumphonic Variations, Op. 78

Tracks:

Allegro Agitato - Jeno Jando
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro Con Fuoco
The Water Goblin, Symphonic Poem, Op. 107

Tracks:

Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Ilya Kaler
Adagio Ma Non Troppo - Ilya Kaler
Allegro Giocoso, Ma Non Troppo - Ilya Kaler
Romance For Violin And Orchestra In F Minor, Op. 11 - Ilya Kaler
Mazurka For Violin And Orchestra, Op. 49 - Alexander Trostianski

Tracks:

Allegro - Maria Kliegel
Adagio Ma Non Troppo - Maria Kliegel
Finale: Allegro Moderato - Andante - Allegro Vivo - Maria Kliegel
Walderuhe For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 68/5 - Dmitry Yablonsky
Rondo For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 94 - Dmitry Yablonsky

Tracks:

No. 1 In C Major
No. 2 In E Minor
No. 3 In A Flat Major
No. 4 In F Major
No. 5 In A Major
No. 6 In D Major
No. 7 In C Minor
No. 8 In G Minor
No. 1 In B Major
No. 2 In E Minor
No. 3 In F Major
No. 4 In D Flat Major
No. 5 In B Flat Minor
No. 6 In B Flat Major
No. 7 In C Major
No. 8 In A Flat Major

Tracks:

Rhapsody, Op. 14
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3

Tracks:

The Noon Witch, Op. 108
The Golden Spinning-Wheel, Op. 109
The Wild Dove, Op. 110

Tracks:

Moderato
Tempo Di Valse
Scherzo: Vivace
Larghetto
ale: Allegro Vivace
Moderato, Quasi Marcia - Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists
Minuetto - Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists
Andante Con Moto - Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists
Allegro Molto - Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists
Notturno In B Major, Op. 40
Five Prague Waltzes
Polka In B Flat Major, Op. 53 A / 1

Tracks:

I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
Preludium (Pastorale)
Polka
Sousedska (Minuetto)
Romance (Romanza)
Fineal (Furiant)
Andante Con Moto
Adagio
onderato (Alla Polacca)
Andante
Allegro
Polonaise In E Flat Major
Festival March, Op. 54

Tracks:

King And Charcoal Burner, Overture
Prelude To Act 1
Prelude To Act 2
Ballet Music From Act 3
Overture
Prelude To Act 2
Infernal Dance From Act 2
Prelude To Act 3
Overture
Polonaise
Dmitrij, Overture
Armida, Overture

Tracks:

Vanda (Overture), Op. 25
In Nature's Realm (Overture), Op. 91
Carnival (Overture), Op. 92
Othello (Overture), Op. 93
My Home (Overture), Op. 62

Tracks:

Hussite Overture, Op. 67
Selma Seklak Overture, Op. 37
Dramatic Overture, Op. Posth
Scherzo Capriccioso, Op. 66
A Hero's Son, Op. 111

Customer Reviews:

20 Hours of Dvorak at a Bargain Price.......2004-08-03

This 17-CD set collects together in one box all the published orchestral works of Antonin Dvorak. It's neatly done: each CD is in a paper envelope and there is a 51-page booklet (with knowledgable and helpful notes for each disc) all fitted into a cardboard box no thicker than that ordinarily used for a two-CD opera recording. All this music has been issued previously on separate discs or sets by Naxos and most of it is, if I'm not mistaken, still available that way. But this collection is one easy way to scoop up all of Dvorak's orchestral music at once. There is much music here that is almost never heard, certainly not in the concert hall and even on CD. For instance, I cannot recall ever seeing a recording (and I know I've never heard in performance) Dvorak's 'Intermezzi.' And the rarely-heard 'Legends' are nicely done here by Stephen Gunzenhauser and the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Of course, the name of the orchestra tells you something: some of these performances were recorded before the breakup of Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Yes, some of the recordings go back to the late 1980s. No matter - the sound is quite acceptable throughout.

There are numerous participants in these recordings, many of them orchestras in the Czecho-Slovak area, as well as the Polish National Radio Orchestra, the Russian Philharmonic and even London's Royal Philharmonic (in a smashing performance, with Maria Kliegel, sure one of our best current cellists, in the Cello Concerto). Conductors include Gunzenhauser, Antoni Wit, Camilla Kolchinsky, Dmitry Yablonsky, Michael Halasz, Zdenek Kosler, Libor Pesek, and Robert Stankovksy.

Obviously one wouldn't buy this set for the most familiar Dvorak pieces - the 'New World' Symphony, the Cello Concerto, the Slavonic Dances - if that was all one was interested in. There are too many fine performances of those already on the market. But how many of you have recordings of poorly known but top-drawer works like the 'Czech Suite,' the 'American Suite,' (it is fashionable to dismiss this suite, but it's actually one of Dvorak's best), or some of the orchestral music from his many operas--overtures to 'King and Charcoal Burner,' 'The Jacobin,' 'Kate and the Devil,' 'Rusalka'? All of these, and more, are here. I recently returned from a trip and the only music I took along was this box of Dvorak. I never got sated, or bored, by it.

I was also quite taken by the performance of one of my favorite pieces by Dvorak, his 'Wind Serenade,' here played by the Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists. And there are marvelous performances by Gunzenhauser and the Polish NRSO of 'The Noon Witch,' 'The Golden Spinning Wheel,' and (a particular favorite of mine) 'The Wild Dove.'

And then there's the super-bargain Naxos price. This is an easy recommendation for the music lover in the market for this specific collection of music.

Scott Morrison

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