Customer Reviews

Dvorák: Piano Concerto; The Golden Spinning Wheel

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Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra are splendid partners in this fine CD of two of Dvorak's lesser known orchestral works which deserve far more attention than they have earned so far. Dvorak's piano concerto is most memorable as the immediate precursor to the great symphonic concertos (think symphony with a soloist) composed by his mentor and friend Johannes Brahms for the piano. Indeed, Dvorak's role for the soloist is merely as the leader in an essentially expanded version of a chamber ensemble work. Here Aimard excels, with a brisk, lively performance that shows his affinity for Dvorak's score (I have had the pleasure of hearing Aimard perform this same piece live at Carnegie Hall with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; his live performance on the Warner CD is no less as riveting as the performance I saw.). Both Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra are superb accompanists. However, as much as I enjoyed this performance, it doesn't seem nearly as magical as Richter's celebrated account with Carlos Kleiber conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra that has been reissued recently by EMI; Richter's recording still has to be regarded as the definitive one for this work.

The other Dvorak work, a forgotten symphonic tone poem, "The Golden Spinning Wheel", is truly the best reason for acquiring this CD. Harnoncourt does a splendid job emphasizing the Slavic folk melody origins of this work, in a performance that must rate as one of his finest collaborations with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. It's a pity Warner Classics took more than a year and a half to release this fine recording; if there are any more magical performances from Harnoncourt still in its vaults, I hope they are released soon.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard continues to present a repertoire for the piano that is never less than imaginative and is always compelling. The Dvorák Piano Concerto is rarely heard, not because it lacks beauty or inventive scoring for both piano and orchestra, but because the piece has gained the reputation of the 'Tristan' of concertos. Enter Pierre-Laurent Aimard and all of that changes. This is a lyrical, lovely, richly romantic piece and Aimard finds all of the hurdles and poetry comfortably under his hands. The second movement 'Andante Sostenuto' is so much a part of nature's quiet realm in its hushed simplicity of line that it truly transports. The fiery passages in Aimard's performance are full of excitement but never out of control.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam with uncanny sensitivity to Aimard's interpretation. An additional bonus on this fine CD is Dvorák's tone poem 'The Golden Spinning Wheel' and is another work that belongs in the standard repertoire of our major orchestras. This is one of those recordings that can be recommended without reservation. Grady Harp, September 05

Neither work on this disc is my favorite of Dvorak, but these are both clean, convincing, inspired performances. Aimard and Harnoncourt are a team made in heaven. For the concerto, you will also want the classic recording of Sviatoslav Richter and Carlos Kleiber on EMI... While this disc is desirable, I highly recommend Aimard and Harnoncourt's previous Teldec release, the Beethoven piano concerti with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; they're absolutely essential.

Countless music lovers are grateful to Harnoncourt for giving us such beautiful renditions of Dvorak's four neglected symphonic poems. You could attend concerts in the U.S. for a long time and never hear them. The Golden Spinning Wheel is the gentlest in tone, with sparkling music for the magic spinniing wheel, a royal march and hunt music, some restrained battle music, and so on. You'd never guess that Dvorak's melodic beauty is being lavished on a gruesome ballad about a Cinderella figure whose evil stepsisters gouge out her eyes and dismember her. All is saved when the eyes and limbs are bartered away to buy a golden sinning wheel and then are brought back to life by a wizard.

Harnoncourt's lovely performance with the Concertgebouw, recorded in 2001, has recently been reissued with the other three tone poems on a single CD, and that's the best way to get it. Your other choice is this disc, and the coupling, Dvorak's sprawling, aimless, and ultimately unmemorable Piano Concerto, is unsalvageable. Harnoncourt and his soloist, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, do their best, as Richter and Carlos Kleiber tried thirty years ago. But the first movement is nearly twenty minutes without a good melody or interesting piano work, the slow movement lacks one of Dvorak's great tues and wanders hopelessly, until the sparkling finale almost rescues things with its infectious good humor. The rescue comes too late, however, after half an hour of tedium.