DVORAK, A.: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" / Czech Suite (Slovak Radio Symphony, Anguelov)

Album review

This is not exactly an ethnically correct recording of Dvorák's Symphony "From the New World" or his "Bohemian" Suite. Ivan Anguélov, the conductor, is Greek, and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra is from Kosice, the second largest city in Slovakia, a country that for a time was mistakenly yoked politically with what later became the Czech Republic, but which was known to Dvorák as Bohemia. Be that as it may, this is nevertheless a wholly sincere and even heartfelt recording of both works and if the playing is not entirely at a world-class level, it is still more than merely professional. Anguélov does nothing with the work that listeners have not heard before -- the muted sorrow of the opening Adagio, the imposing power of the following Allegro molto, the yearning sweetness of the central Largo, the tumultuous drive of the Molto vivace scherzo, and the massive muscle of the closing Allegro con fuoco are all standard operating features in any decent performance of the symphony -- but he does them with complete commitment and total concentration. The Slovak Radio Symphony is clearly not a Czech orchestra -- the singing tone of the strings and the pungent wind colors are missing -- but there is a rough-hewn charm to the strings, a hard sheen to the winds, and, most of all, a raw strength to the brass and tympani that at once identifies the players. While surely not among the finest recordings of the symphony ever made -- how could it be when the work is among the most recorded in history? -- the addition of a soulful performance of the "Bohemian" Suite does increase this disc's usefulness. Oehms' sound is more straightforward and direct than warm and polished but not unappealing.
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