Customer Reviews

Dvorák: Piano Concerto, Op. 33; The Water Goblin, Op. 107

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Poor Antonin Dvorak. A rich benefactress brought him to New York to be director of a national conservatory, founded primarily by her fortune. Obviously, she hoped that his leadership, not to mention his shining example, would inspire a worthwhile kind of American ... meaning U.S.A. ... classical music. That dream seems to have had to wait a few years, until people like Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland, and others grew up enough to go to Europe and study with the beloved grande dame, Nadia Boulanger, in Paris. Meanwhile, Dvorak claimed considerable attention and success with his ninth symphony. The word on his piano concerto, however, was not so good. Many people ... including a lot of very good pianists ... damned it with faint praise. Just not written in a suitably pianistic style, was the common and much-repeated judgment. Nobody wanted to exactly blame Dvorak for trying to write a piano concerto, but it was easily suggested that since he didn't play piano himself, it was no wonder he just didn't get it right. A famous friend, whose exact name escapes me at the moment ... Jilek? ..., stepped in to help by putting out an edition of the work that jazzed up the piano parts a bit, while leaving the genius of the orchestral music intact. Still, this hybrid version didn't win many fans either. So the work has languished, around the edges of the central repertoire, occasionally being revived ... but nobody can particularly remember when they actually heard it last. Into this fog of half-truths, and poorly played performances, enter the outstanding Hungarian pianist Jeno Jando, accompanied by conductor Antoni Wit and the Polish radio orchestra. Well, some days they say, everything just goes fine in a recording session. This Cd must have been recorded on one of those rare days. The pacing and exposition by both the pianist and the orchestra are completely exemplary. In fact, while I own and enjoy quite a few good recordings from the growing Naxos catalogue, I would nominate this one as the very best recording, and very best performance, that they have managed to capture to date. In Jando's poetic hands, the Dvorak concerto begins to sound like a long-lost sibling, from a later generation, of the justly famous Schumann piano concerto family. While Dvorak stays completely true to his own identity and musical style, his piano concerto sounds completely winning and musical. Never once, and I believe Mr. Jando is playing the original version of the keyboard part, not the hybrid later edition; do you wish there were more, or less, or any other kind of notes, other than the exact ones Dvorak wrote. Fully caught up in this amazing moment, the Polish orchestra do themselves equally proud, led by Antoni Wit. Just as the Schumann is a challenging concerto to play, by virtue of its musical demands for balancing angels on the heads of pins, so with the Dvorak it would seem. The Olympian simplicities that both concertos require are supremely difficult to achieve. What sheer virtuosity can render flashy and empty in Schumann's and in Dvorak's piano concertos, a solid but invisible technique may yet accomplish, allied as it is in the case of Mr. Jando's playing, with a superb sense of articulation and poetry. Well, for the price, you can hardly get anything like this, anywhere else. The tone poem that the orchestra recorded to fill out the Cd also goes extremely well. Bravos, all round. That day at the recording studio was really something, and since anyone can own this CD, anyone can be there as it happens. The ghost of Czech master pianist, Rudolf Firkusny, is probably smiling broadly about now. He took it upon himself to tirelessly advocate for the Dvorak concerto. Mr. Firkusny was certain that its day would come. And with this recording, that day has finally arrived. Add this Cd to your collection, soon. Listen to it. Then pat yourself on the back for being such a shrewd and uncommonly alert customer. If Mr. Jando comes to town to play in your area, carry it back stage for him to autograph. I think he will. You only have to ask him. Highly recommended. Highly.

Many will be surprised to learn that Dvorak has actually written a piano concerto. Listening to it, however, will bring them back to familiar territory: all of his symphonic works' chief characteristics are present here, including deceptively simple themes, a constant battle between major and minor tones, and a preference for expressiveness over pure virtuosity. In other words, it is everything the notion of a Dvorak piano concerto promises to be, and the elaborate first movement (lasting about 20 minutes) might be the most impressive. Comparisons with Brahms have been suggested; among Dvorak's other contemporaries, I would personally mention the concertos of Saint-Saens and Grieg as interesting connections, although the piece is Dvorak's alone. Completing this recording is The Water Goblin, the first of five symphonic poems Dvorak composed in 1896-1897; listeners with a taste for his beautiful orchestral Legends (op. 59) will certainly appreciate this late, evocative work. The excellent performances make this release even more of a success.

What do you call the most underrated piece of music by one of the classics' most underrated composers? Dvorak's piano concerto is what. Very enjoyable is what. Typical excellence from Jeno Jando makes this a real winner. Naxos work in all areas of Dvorak's compositions deserve the highest praise...and this just adds another jewel to the crown.

The piano concerto is probably Dvorak's most obscure concerto. This version is acceptable. I thought the solo piano was excellent but unfortunately a bit distant on this recording. The other instrumental solos seem somewhat distant as well. Talking about the piece itself my opinion is that it is less successful than either Dvorak's very fine cello concerto or his highly appealing violin concerto. Having said that however it is still a great composition with many pleasant passages particularly in the excellent third movement. I thought Jando's work on this was really good but I wish I could hear it all clearly here. Occasionally the orchestra overwhelmed the piano but that is the only drawback I see with this CD.

Among the series of Dvorak orchestral works from Naxos, this is probably the best. The early piano concerto - an immensely enjoyable piece - is actually superbly done, and Jando plays with the appropriate mix of grandeur and lyricism and good control of the overall structure of the work. The orchestral support is more than adequate as well; Antoni Wit takes a rather broad view and the orchestra provides splendid support for Jando with warm and colorful playing. The piano concerto might not be among Dvorak's best works, but it is an attractively tuneful and finely constructed work, and this reading can withstand comparison with most other recordings (if it doesn't exactly outshine Schiff or Richter). Sound quality - balance between orchestra and soloists and between orchestral instruments in particular - is excellent, another point in favor of this recording.

If the piano concerto is no unqualified masterpiece, the coupling - the late symphonic poem Vodnik (the Water Goblin) - certainly is. The playing here is unfortunately not as distinguished as in the piano concerto; the work needs slightly tighter reins, but individual players in the orchestra at least do their things well and are able to conjure up color and atmosphere; in the end, though, this is not really a competitive reading, but it is far from bad, and overall this Naxos release can be safely recommended.

An infectiously fresh and warmly lyrical account from Jando and the highly supportive Polish National Radio Orchestra under Antoni Wit. Jando conveys his own pleasure, and Wit's accompanimne flows with color; he then offers a spendidly vibrant and colorful portrayal of The Water Goblin, one of the composer's most vividly melodramatic symphonic poems. The recording is spacious and realistically balanced. The violins are a shade overbright but otherwise the sound is excellent.