Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony No. 9 in E minor From the New World Op. 95 [44:14]
Leos JANÁČEK (1854-1928)
Sinfonietta, Op. 60 [23:21]
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Sylvain Cambreling
rec. 7-9 September 2005, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany (Sinfonietta), 25-28
June 2009, Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden, Germany (Symphony)
GLOR CLASSICS GC11421 [67:35]
I’ve played this Dvořák New World three times now
and every time starts like this - “It can’t be that good”
- and ends like this - “wow, it is”. There is serious fire
in the first movement, with all-out orchestral playing, high romantic heat
and thunderous climaxes, contrasted with a largo that is simply exquisite
in its beauty and slow, nocturnal pace. Only a couple of passages in the finale
let up on the full emotional power of the reading, but by the end you’ve
forgotten about them and can’t help but stand in admiration. The fact
that this is the SWR Orchestra of Baden-Baden and Freiburg, under Sylvain
Cambreling, rather than, say, the New York Philharmonic, makes it not just
a superb reading but a very gratifying surprise.
The one serious blemish on the Janáček Sinfonietta is a
sense of hurry in the opening and closing fanfares. It’s actually about
the same speed Ančerl and Mackerras use in their classic readings, but
over time I’ve come to prefer a little slower delivery. Maybe it’s
me. Everything in between goes well, and the finale is suitably physically
exciting. The fourteen trumpets sometimes do fail to live up to their incredibly
high expectations, since in this work any sign of timidity is weakness. The
Dvořák is the star performance though, coming as it does from
out of nowhere, and being, as it is, utterly outstanding and thrilling, a
high octane account.
The sound isn’t flawless - I believe these are live recordings but the
booklet doesn’t say - but it is more than good enough, and the presentation
is better than I expected from little-known Glor Classics. Certainly, if you
want to hear an unexpected success of a New World Symphony, order this,
although if you’re perfectly content with Kubelík, Mackerras,
Szell and a host of other past greats, this is not especially necessary.
Brian Reinhart
An unexpectedly thrilling New World with full emotional power. Who’d
have known?
Masterwork Index: Dvořák 9