This is one of my favorite symphony tunes. Tittled, "From the New World", it has a certain pompous feeling to it, which starts to build up on verse 3) Scherzo Molto vivace, and erupts gloriously at verse 4) Allegro con fouco. In fact, I am so crazy about the Symphony No.9 that I have many versions of it. This one conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra remains my favourite by far.
Recorded in Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, October 1999, the sonics is very naturally warm yet distinctly transparent. I could hear Harnoncourt's breathing as he conducts through the quieter passages of the symphony, and in between the verses. The musical performance is at once emotionally nuanced, yet have very impressive dynamics and transient scaling when required. There's never a dull moment, especially when compared to Karajan's rendition on DG Gold label, which I felt while technically excellent but tend to sound a little too controlled at times.
But at the end of the day, I just basically like most of Dvorak's pieces. Until today, I still haven't found any two persons pronouncing Dvorak convincingly the same, or confirm the proper reading of the name. Perhaps someday, I'll be enlightened.
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4 comments:
Listen to his No.4 it has all the cowboy themes in it. I have always pronounced it as Da Vo Jaque.
I think his name is pronounced as Vorschaak with the s a little silent.
Symphony No9 happens to be one of my favourite too. There is a sense of rousing your spirits almost as if in anticipation of war or crisis.
The one I have is Christoph von Dohnanyi's with Cleveland Orchestra on the London label. This version is raw and exciting, befitting the score.
Hi! All,
The Dvorak Symphony No.9 seems to have many fans.
Thov chak, Vorak, Vojac, Vorshaak and the list keeps growing. Amazing.
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