Amazing pieces of classical music - 45
Antonín Dvořák's Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 (B.108) with Joseph Suk as solist and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Karel Ančerl in 1961. Composed in 1879 the concerto was premiered in 1883, and although it’s generally not reckoned to be as good as the major violin concerti by other composers, after this particular Suk performance Dvořák needed to fear no competition any more.
Suk’s grandfather with the same name was the Czech composer, violinist, and Olympic silver medalist for Music (1932). Art competitions were then part of the Olympics, only to be discontinued in 1948 due to concerns about amateurism and professionalism. Since 1952, there’s been on occasions a non-competitive art and cultural festival, and recently it was termed as the Cultural Program of the Olympics.
Underlying Dvořák's respect for grandfather Josef Suk was the 1898 marriage to his own daughter Otilie, marking some of the happiest times in the Dvořák’s life and music. Otilie, however, died of heart failure aged 27 in 1905, one year after the death of her father. Josef and Otillie were the grandparents of the very much acclaimed violinist Josef Suk, who was the solist of our recording and died in 2011.
Dvořák's Violin Concerto is frequently paired with Josef Suk Sr.’s Fantasy in G minor, Op. 24 from 1902-1903, as both are significant Czech violin works, often featuring on the same recordings or concert programs, connecting the composer Dvořák with his student and son-in-law Suk, offering a delightful blend of Dvořák's robust romanticism and Suk's rhapsodic, virtuosic style.
No wonder then that our recording of the violin concerto has been praised for its deeply idiomatic, passionate, and lyrical playing, highlighting Suk's own seamless partnership with the Czech Philharmonic under Karel Ančerl, making it a benchmark recording, and that despite yet again older sound quality quickly overcome by the superb musicality, character, and authentic Czech feel.
When Ančerl took over the Philharmonic in 1950 it was a political, rather than a musical appointment. It was done without the agreement of the orchestra, which no doubt caused the young conductor some considerable difficulties. These were soon overcome, and the Philharmonic became, under Ančerl’s leadership, during the next eighteen years one of the finest of the aristocratic European orchestras.
One reviewer stated the Ančerl tenure this way: “Without in the least underestimating the immense merit of Václav Talich and Rafael Kubelík in defining the interpretive style of the Czech Philharmonic, it can be said that Karel Ančerl was the first Czech conductor to reach a truly worldwide standing, and that he carried his orchestra to sovereign virtuosity and international fame.”
The opening for Dvořák's Violin Concerto in this 1961 Prague recording is just as dramatic a start as any played before or since, preparing us for a performance which combines drama and delicacy, balanced perfectly by soloist and orchestra alike. In it, the then characteristic tone of the Czech woodwind instruments are matched with the superb string section to sound absolutely right.
Ančerl’s ability to conjure up the necessary rustic atmosphere to point up the soloist’s superb rendition is indeed a vital contribution to the proceedings. The slow movement is a study in tenderness and both soloist and conductor are in complete accord with the composer’s inspiration. The energy of the finale has to be heard to be believed.
On an highly personal note here, my beloved cat, whose whole life time was spent by my side, was indeed very much like this recording which she loved hearing on the car radio during our journeys together. She died last week, but was as bright and marvelous till the end
[media=https://youtu.be/VuMbpQcwYmY]
Suk’s grandfather with the same name was the Czech composer, violinist, and Olympic silver medalist for Music (1932). Art competitions were then part of the Olympics, only to be discontinued in 1948 due to concerns about amateurism and professionalism. Since 1952, there’s been on occasions a non-competitive art and cultural festival, and recently it was termed as the Cultural Program of the Olympics.
Underlying Dvořák's respect for grandfather Josef Suk was the 1898 marriage to his own daughter Otilie, marking some of the happiest times in the Dvořák’s life and music. Otilie, however, died of heart failure aged 27 in 1905, one year after the death of her father. Josef and Otillie were the grandparents of the very much acclaimed violinist Josef Suk, who was the solist of our recording and died in 2011.
Dvořák's Violin Concerto is frequently paired with Josef Suk Sr.’s Fantasy in G minor, Op. 24 from 1902-1903, as both are significant Czech violin works, often featuring on the same recordings or concert programs, connecting the composer Dvořák with his student and son-in-law Suk, offering a delightful blend of Dvořák's robust romanticism and Suk's rhapsodic, virtuosic style.
No wonder then that our recording of the violin concerto has been praised for its deeply idiomatic, passionate, and lyrical playing, highlighting Suk's own seamless partnership with the Czech Philharmonic under Karel Ančerl, making it a benchmark recording, and that despite yet again older sound quality quickly overcome by the superb musicality, character, and authentic Czech feel.
When Ančerl took over the Philharmonic in 1950 it was a political, rather than a musical appointment. It was done without the agreement of the orchestra, which no doubt caused the young conductor some considerable difficulties. These were soon overcome, and the Philharmonic became, under Ančerl’s leadership, during the next eighteen years one of the finest of the aristocratic European orchestras.
One reviewer stated the Ančerl tenure this way: “Without in the least underestimating the immense merit of Václav Talich and Rafael Kubelík in defining the interpretive style of the Czech Philharmonic, it can be said that Karel Ančerl was the first Czech conductor to reach a truly worldwide standing, and that he carried his orchestra to sovereign virtuosity and international fame.”
The opening for Dvořák's Violin Concerto in this 1961 Prague recording is just as dramatic a start as any played before or since, preparing us for a performance which combines drama and delicacy, balanced perfectly by soloist and orchestra alike. In it, the then characteristic tone of the Czech woodwind instruments are matched with the superb string section to sound absolutely right.
Ančerl’s ability to conjure up the necessary rustic atmosphere to point up the soloist’s superb rendition is indeed a vital contribution to the proceedings. The slow movement is a study in tenderness and both soloist and conductor are in complete accord with the composer’s inspiration. The energy of the finale has to be heard to be believed.
On an highly personal note here, my beloved cat, whose whole life time was spent by my side, was indeed very much like this recording which she loved hearing on the car radio during our journeys together. She died last week, but was as bright and marvelous till the end
[media=https://youtu.be/VuMbpQcwYmY]
