Dvorák: Symphonie No. 9 "du Nouveau Monde" [Import]

Antonin Dvorak (Composer), Bedrich Smetana (Composer), Franz Liszt (Composer), Ferenc Fricsay (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Orchestre Symphonique de Berlin (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Berlin
• Conductor: Ferenc Fricsay
• Composer: Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, Franz Liszt
• Audio CD (June 8, 2006)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Deutsche Gram France
• ASIN: B00004VEPS
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,938 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 9 in E minor ('From the New World'), B. 178 (Op. 95) (first published as No. 5): 1. Adagio - Allegro molto

2. Symphony No. 9 in E minor ('From the New World'), B. 178 (Op. 95) (first published as No. 5): 2. Largo

3. Symphony No. 9 in E minor ('From the New World'), B. 178 (Op. 95) (first published as No. 5): 3. Molto vivace

4. Symphony No. 9 in E minor ('From the New World'), B. 178 (Op. 95) (first published as No. 5): 4. Allegro con fuoco

5. Vltava (The Moldau), symphonic poem (Má Vlast No. 2), JB 1:112/2

6. Les Préludes, symphonic poem for orchestra, S. 97 (LW G3)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most unique New World recordings ever, July 21, 2008

By 

Larry VanDeSande - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dvorák: Symphonie No. 9 "du Nouveau Monde" (Audio CD)

Here is a repackaged version of Ferenc Fricsay's Dvoark "New World" Symphony No. 9, Smetana Moldau, and Liszt Les Preludes, recorded in 1959-60 with the Berlin Philharmonic. These recordings have been in publication almost consistently since they first arrived on DG LP way back when, and for good reason -- this is one of Fricsay's most cherished recordings.

For those that have never been exposed, the Hungarian Friscay (pronounce free-SHOY) came out of the postwar boomlet of conductors, what we know today as the golden age of orchestral conductors in Europe. This was the time of Furtwangler, Karajan, Bohm, Solti, Bernstein, Szell and many other of the biggest name conductors in history. Friscay built his reputation through a highly romanticized approach that features a lot of rubato -- most of which would be considered inappropriate in today's period performance influenced epoch -- and orchestral modulations that made any band sound much bigger than they are. He had a working relationship wtih a new orchestra of the time -- the RIAS, or Radio in the Amercian Sector orchetra.

I first came to know the Fricsay style through his LP of Beethoven's Symphony 7 with BPO on the DG label. Here was highly measured and controlled Beethoven most of the way through with little of the dance rhythm some conductors find in the score. At the very end, Fricsay let it rip and things changed dramatically, builidng a fire-breathing and hair-raising conclusion that renedered the whole thing unforgettable.

You hear these tactics most effectively here in the finale of the New World symphony where the conductor waits a tad longer than most to implement the horn blasts after the opening string sequence. Put most directly, Fricsay is simply more exciting in this music than other conductors and he got the 1959 Berlin Philharmonic to play it his way, including a wailing woodwing during the transition between opening and second ideas in the finale. In my opinion, the Berlin Philharmonic has never sounded better for any conductor than they sound for Fricsay in this recording. It is alive and human, 180 degrees from the ultrasmooth Mercedes on the Autobahn approach of Karajan.

The new issue in DG's "Collection du millenaire" packaging comes in a slimline hard plastic container and only contains a page of notes in French. I assume Amazon imported this because the original DG issue -- the one with Fricsay's bald head on the cover -- is now only available via an expensive Australian import. As you probably noted when you checked this out, this one is quite a bit less expensive. It's definitely worth it since the remastering seems to be a bit improved. Even if not, you get one of Ferenc Fricsay's best-ever recordings and one of the most original New World symphonies in existence.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broad, weighty and dramatic, February 17, 2009

By 

SwissDave (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dvorák: Symphonie No. 9 "du Nouveau Monde" (Audio CD)

Had some fun comparing Dvorák 9ths lately. My favourite four are/remain the same, in ascending order: Bernstein/NYP (1962) takes the Largo too slowly (admittedly to great effect), then the Scherzo at a breakneck pace (impressively but unnecessarily so, I'm afraid), a fun reading, well-executed and -recorded. Fricsay/BPO (1959) is broad, dramatic, weighty, well-played and -recorded. Ancerl/CPO (1961) sounds the most Czech and idiomatic of all, a lithe, lean and agile reading whose sound quality comes out very well in the most recent remasterings (also available as XRCD). Kertész/VPO (1961) brings together the best qualities of them all, and still sounds great in the latest Japanese remastering (also available as Esoteric SACD hybrid, which I haven't heard yet), and remains my top favourite (but I like interpretive variety, which one will get on the highest quality level owning all four of these recordings). The Kertész/LSO (1966) sounds curiously "flat" (as others have observed here and elsewhere) in comparison, too much of a déjà vu perhaps, but it's still in the league (or close) of other good recordings, such as those by Horenstein, Kubelik, Neumann, Reiner, Szell and Talich.

Great remastering, by the way, probably the best this recording has got so far. Wholeheartedly recommended, even as an only version (not my thing, though). Nice fillers (other 9ths come without any), by the way, with the 1960 Moldau and 1959 Liszt Les Préludes possibly my favourite recordings each.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

5.0 out of 5 stars Weight and Scope, November 16, 2010

By 

Kelly P. Clark "making music" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dvorák: Symphonie No. 9 "du Nouveau Monde" (Audio CD)

I have to confess relative ignorance of Fricsay until somewhat recently. While he is one of the lesser known figures from the period typically recognized as the golden age of conductors--never achieving the status of say, a Furtwangler or a Klemperer--this neglect is more due to the brevity of his career than any comparative assessments. Rest assured, Fricsay's reading of the Dvorak no. 9 is weighty and substantial without being plodding or dense. He maintains precise control, never sacrificing urgency in the process. You will likely have other readings of this work. That said, this is one exhilarating New World from the Old World.