Customer Reviews

Symphony 1 & 5

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The name of this sometimes forgotten and dismissed conductor (1908-1973) will be intimately linked with the Czech Philharmonic. Pupil of Vaclav Talich (1933-34) All his life was a huge battlefield in the literal sense. He lived the Auschwitz hell and even renounced to his charge, giving the last performance on May 28 1969, and leaving his country in protest at the Soviet occupation to die in Canada July 3 1973.

We find Ancerl conducting a rending performance of this visionary First Symphony. It' s a sparkling version, idiomatic and incisive.

The famous Shostakovich 's Fifth finds in Ancerl a magnificent approach, remarking above all the implicit horror, present throughout all the work. The pianissimos in the First Movement and the bitterness suggested by the horns are achieved with excellent results. Remarking the anguish and the claustrophobic desperation. The fabulous performance of this notable Orchestra has been a constant through the years. The presence of two great names of the baton as Talich and Neumann, fortunately have allowed to maintain an elevated status at the moment of naming the top twenty Orchestras in the Century.

Recorded at the Dvórak Hall of Rudolfinum, Prague, from 7 to 10 April, 1964 (First Symphony) and on 11 and 14 November 1961 (5-8).

Try to get - as soon as you can - these invaluable and historic recordings.