Dvorak: Slavonic Dances/Smetana: Ma Vlast, Bartered Bride [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
You Will Search Far to Find Such Potent, Explosive Recordings of the Smetana Bartered Bride Excerpts Or the Selection of Five Slavonic Dances Here Included, Or as Picturesquely Sculpted a Vltava. Istvan Kertesz Brings Poetry and Fire in Equal Measure to These Works in a Superbly Recorded Concert that is Rounded off with Dvorak's Tuneful Slavonic Rhapsody No. Three and the Popular First Romanian Rhapsody of Enescu.

Customer Reviews:

This is excellent in every respect.......2005-11-20

George Szell's recordings of Smetana's "The Moldau" and 3 Dances from "The Bartered Bride" + Dvorak's "Carnival" Overture and 4 Slavonic dances are excellent in every respect, and are likely yet to be bettered, even though these recordings were made over 40 years ago. Szell was a native of Hungary, coming to New York in 1940, but during his youth had lived in Prague, so was very familiar with the Czech national feeling and idiom of Czech music. Szell also recorded Dvorak's Symphonies 7, 8 and 9, the complete Slavonic Dances (all of Opus 46 and 72) and Smetana's Overture to the "Bartered Bride" (mono, but very good sound) with the Cleveland Orchestra for Columbia, and they are among the very best recordings of these works even today. Sony released Szell's Dvorak 7,8,9 in a "Masterworks" edition in 1998, and I suggest anyone loving Czech music get that recording, plus this one, even though "Carnival" is in both recordings.

There is a sense of rightness about all these recordings-the Cleveland Orchestra are so precise and the sound is very good: rich and full in all ranges. On my system, this benefits from adding the "Loudness" contour, which emphasizes bass and treble a little. I can't tell you what Szell does in every piece; he just seems to have a certain nuance and confidence that places this among the best recordings.

I've know this recording since 1973; our library had it on an Epic LP, and when the age of CD came along in the 1980s, I bought this. I have years of familiarity with Szell's Smetana and Dvorak, and it has enriched my life alot. I keep coming back to it, like a great book or movie. Highly recommended, and a bargain as well.

Average customer rating:

Kdenek kosler at his best !
Defective CD
Great Music Ruined by Poor Production

Slavonic Festival

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Czech | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Rusalka: Polonaise
The Bartered Bride: A. Overture - B. Polka - C. Furiant - D. Dance Of The Comedians
Scherzo Capriccioso, Op.66
Moravian Dances: A. Kozich - B. Kalamajka - C. Trojky - D. Silnice - E. Rozek
Slavonic Rhapsody, Op. 45, No. 2
Vltava (Moldau)

Customer Reviews:

Kdenek kosler at his best !.......2005-12-04

Zcech conductor Zdenek kosler is an inmense conductor, Karl Ancerl and Vaclav Neumann's disciple, and in this CD you cand find with him Dvorak's Scherzo Capriccioso and Smetana's The Moldau, excellent performances!. I also recommend to you Mahler's Titan symphony in Kosler's version, in "Amadis" a bargain collection in NAXOS, commented here before. oscarolavarria

Defective CD.......2002-03-24

Beware of this recording. It is defective. I purchased it and returned it several times from another vendor. And it seems your own samples are the same.

It skips from Dvorak to Smetana and bypasses all the Moravian Dances and anything else in-between. Even your sample which lists "Scherzo" by Dvorak, is in fact the beginning of the Moldau by Smetana. In other words, whoever produced this CD erased all the numbers in between!

I would appreciate to hear from other customers, to see if their experience matches mine.

Great Music Ruined by Poor Production.......2000-06-19

This CD features 13 pieces of music, which are broken down into 6 tracks. For example, selections from "The Bartered Bride" are one solid track. You cannot listen to Polka, Furiant, or Dance of the Comedians without first listening to the Overture. Janacek's Five Maravian Dances also form a single track. Fortunately, the music itself is very enjoyable (4 Stars). I specifically purchased this CD because I also have the Naxos "The World of Digital Classics, Sampler 3".