COMPOSERS: Dvorak
LABELS: Decca Ovation
ALBUM TITLE: Dvorak: Symphonic Variations; The Noonday Witch; Serenade Op. 44; Hussite Overture
WORKS: Symphonic Variations; The Noonday Witch; Serenade Op. 44; Hussite Overture
PERFORMER: LSO/István Kertész
CATALOGUE NO: 425 061-2 ADD (1968/71/72)
Kertész’s recording of all nine of Dvorák’s symphonies with the LSO in 1971 was a landmark. This and the next disc of orchestral miscellania are of similar vintage and have many of the same sterling virtues: vivid and compelling, these performances are a near-perfect blend of intelligence and spontaneity. The late symphonic poems and the Symphonic Variations have rarely been better performed. The odd moment of poor woodwind intonation takes nothing from these superb renditions.
Jan Smaczny