Customer Reviews

Dvorák: Symphony No.9 (New World)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is much to love in this recording of Dvorak's popular "New World Symphony". The music of the Largo is extremely warm and beautiful. The Scherzo bustles with energy during the fast sections and dances beautifully in the middle section. And both the first and last movements are thoroughly energetic and powerful (Christoph von Dohnanyi and his Cleveland Orechestra clearly understand the meaning of "con fuoco"!) This recording is one of my favorites and is certainly a fine addition to anyone's collection.

It astounds me that this performance isn't higher in the Amazon Dvorak 9th pecking order. This is an always has been THE finest perfomance of the 9th ever recorded. von Dohnanyi conducts with marvelous strenght yet great sensitivity. All the complex internal lines, esp. the low strings are very well defined. von Dohnanyi brings a uniquely slavic understanding to this music.

When this symphony was first performed in America, when the conductor came to the end of the 4th con fuoco movement, there was a stunned silence, followed by more than 15 minutes of cheers, rabid applause, curtain calls, bravos. The applause followed him out of the theater into the street outside. This was thought to be the first great American symphony, with Black Spiritual "Goin' Home". "Three Blind Mice", etc. Now it is regarded as a great symphony, but what is American in here is tempered with a lot of Czech/Bohemia slavic folk music influence, too. Implies the growing industrial power and grandeur of America, as it seemed to the visitor Dvorak in the 1890's.

Makes you want to stand up and cheer. A textbook example of how to create a dramatic symphony. If you are an America or a Bohemian, you should feel it in your blood.

This performance is like that! Dvorak would be proud.

The best.

Not only the best but one of the benchmark greatest performances in classical music history. The standard by which all others are judged.

I heard this conductor conduct this symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra last week. The phrasing and the energy were different than I ever remember. The symphony was so engaging and beautiful that my friend and I were in tears at the end. This is music played with both heart and soul. I am buying the recording for many family members for Christmas.

Dvorak

Christoph Von Dohnanyi

The Cleveland Orchestra

CD 1

- Symphony No. 7

- Symphony No. 8

CD 2

- Symphony No. 9

(London/Decca - DDD - 1986/1987)

This 2 CD set is excellent. These performances are worthy of being the sole representation, of each Symphony, in your collection. Five stars.

Comparing it to Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony.

why this one? here are some reasons:

1) easier to listen to. Solti and Chicago are so high powered and insanely loud to where I want to sit back and relax to this symphony without losing my hearing. The Trombones in this recording are good and Powerful but reserved and that's nice... sometimes.

The Adagio, This recording all the strings are much more in tune and I'm not like "eeehhhggggghhhh, play in tune". The FFF where the entire Orchestra comes in you don't have to turn the volume down. and Great dynamics througout the entire Cd, just not over the top dynamic.

No screeching in the strings although you can tell this recording is very real and not edited and re-edited then edited again there are no loud screeches coming from Violins or basses. i.e. Cleveland is not trying to over play the work.

2) more punctual playing. sometimes I enjoy Legato through a soli but when you can hear all the parts like in the Telarc Rite of Spring by Christoph it gives the recording more depth and you can feel it. I can every note in this recording all the time and that I like.

3) It's Christoph Van Dohnannyi for crying out loud. I love him, he's great. I have many a performance by him and the Cleveland Orchestra and will continue to get his recordings because of this cd in particular.

4) This is an extremely well balanced, well played, performance. Cleveland always has been like that. the main reason I like them.

Why Solti and Chicago?

1) sometimes you need something to make you wanna stand up and say "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" just like that. Solti and the Chicago symphony does it. Insanely Loud Trombone and Trumpet section without mistakes.

Adagio is very clean and fun to listen to especially when the entire orchestra comes in. I don't mind the strings being out of tune with each other and it's pretty obviously they are some what more out of tune than that towards the end... along with several other sections in this movements.

2) I like big loud things and when Trombones/brass in general play like this I smile a lot. this is not a balanced recording like you might want, but if you're trying to learn or model after how to play a trombone this is the recording to model after cus' if you can play like this at this volume you can play at any volume.

3) It is Georg Freakin Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra!! hahahahaha! YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4) there are several places where you can clearly hear the Bow of violins and Double basses slicing through the notes which makes an authentic sound, meaning this is played so agressively to where it couldn't be played any louder.

In conclusion to all that and now that I've really thought it through I like both of them of course, but not equally. I would recommend Christoph Von Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra over Solti's 'Balzing Brass', although Chicago's Brass is amazing to me and I might recommend it, I would recommend this recording first.

As an Amazon buyer, you may choose to buy this CD of just the Ninth for $16.98, or the 2-disk set of three "great" Dvorak symphonies with the Cleveland Orchestra/Dohnanyi (same performance of the Ninth) for $11.97.

I am not a classical fan per se, but I do love the new world. I have played this cd over and over and I have never tired of it. It just seems so different from many of the other big and popular classical recordings...it doesn't sound so pompous.