Eighteen
years part these two works of Dvořák,
the first relatively early in his career,
the last that of a master craftsman.
Although the Serenade is no stranger
to the concert hall, it is somewhat
of a Cinderella piece. At this time
the family were awaiting the birth of
their second child, and following some
recent successes the future looked hopeful.
Dvořák was obviously in good spirits
as the work was completed in
only eleven days and this in a year
which produced three major chamber works,
and the Fifth Symphony, as well as some
songs and the opera Vanda. The
usual concert performance nowadays is
of a revised edition from the original
autographed copy and 34 bars in the
Scherzo (including the viola solo) and
79 bars in the Finale are omitted. There
are other small changes from the original,
which are restored in Hogwood's version
with the LPO (Decca 448 981-2DEC).
The New World symphony
is really too well known to need comment;
suffice it to say that this music was
bread and butter to Kubelik, whose interpretations
and performances of music from his homeland
will be sadly missed. One could always
rely on him to produce a sane, sensible
reading without histrionics, but fully
imbued with the essential nature of
Czech music. This is demonstrated on
this disc in both items. Listen to the
Valse-trio second movement of the Serenade;
the "lilt" of the music is so well caught
and conveyed that one can barely refrain
from swinging arms and conducting in
company. The larghetto shows much gemutlichkeit
but without becoming syrupy or over-sweet.
The symphony is given a very traditional
but nonetheless satisfying reading -
no surprises, but Kubelik allows the
music to speak for itself. Throughout
the orchestral playing is good and obviously
responsive to the conductor's directives.
The recording is excellent
and balance more than satisfactory.
The big surprise is that the audience
is so well-behaved, so much so that
the applause
at the end comes as a shock. Previous
to this there is not a sound to be heard
from them. This is the last in a series
of performances of Dvořák's works
given by Kubelik at live concerts. I
have not heard the others, but if they
yield performances as on this
disc, they can be recommended as good
sound unidiosyncratic performances.
John Portwood
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Rafael Kubelik
