Dvorak - Piano Concerto, Symphony No. 8 - Kubelik [Import]

Antonin Dvorak (Composer), Rafael Kubelik (Conductor), Rudolf Firkusny (Performer), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Multisonic
• Run Time: 74 minutes
• ASIN: B0006OGXMO
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,163 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Prague Spring Collection - Historical Recording. ANTON?N DVO?ÁK. Concerto in G minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 33: 1. Allegro Agitato 2. Andante Sostenuto 3. Finale. Allegro con fuoco. Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88: 4. Allegro con brio 5. Adagio 6. Allegretto Grazioso 7. Allegro ma non troppo. Rudolf Firkusny - Piano. Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor - Rafael Kubelik. Total time 74:06.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the definitive performance of one of the greatest concerti, August 21, 2005

By 

C. Cantello (Whiting, VT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dvorak - Piano Concerto, Symphony No. 8 - Kubelik (Audio CD)

This is perhaps the most underrated of all concerti--breathtakingly impassioned and heroic, and heart-renderingly lyrical, it leaves the listener exhausted. It's in a league with only Beethoven's 5th "Emperor," and Brahms's 1st, piano concerti. It combines their heroism with Schubertian lyricism.

So, this concerto requires a performance which encompasses these traits, and only the present entry succeeds 100%. Each of the other Firkusny recordings of the work is also good, but only this performance has a total sense of abandon, utmost intensity. The recorded sound is fair-to-poor, with over-emphasis on the piano, and probably this live recording wouldn't have been issued at all if the performance didn't blow away all the competition as it does. This is a CD for music-lovers, but certainly not for audiophiles.

The only other good or fairly good performances--worth maybe 2 to 3 stars--are Firkusny's others, especially the one with Szell, and the recordings by Kvapil and by Wuhrer, but none can touch this one.

The performance by Kubelik of the 8th Symphony is also superb, but it has plenty of close competition, whereas the performance of the Piano Concerto doesn't.