Dvorak's Violin Concerto

[eyeresist]

I'm thinking about trying the new Tognetti (BIS) since it's coupled with the Legends, which I don't have.

I have that somewhere - picked it up cheap. It was not exceptional, but then I'm not a great fan of these works anyway.

[Lethevich]

I also didn't love the Tognetti. The coupling was nice, and the Legends performance good, but the VC wasn't as interesting as the competition (my favourites being Vengerov, Suk and Faust).

[aligreto]

Dvorak's Violin Concerto is a work that I really like; the lively and energetic and sometimes plaintiff first movement, the beautifully contemplative slow movement and the very entertaining final movement. It is not a flamboyant, virtuoso piece but rather a well thought out work that is finely constructed.

I have five versions in my collection....

Little - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Handley [Classics for Pleasure]
Martzy - RIAS Symphony Orchestra Berlin / Fricsay [DG]
Oistrakh - USSR Large Symphony Orchestra [Regis]
Suk – Czech Philharmonic Orchestra / Ancerl [Supraphon]
Zehetmair - Philharmonia Orchestra / Eschenbach [Warner/Apex]



A perusal of this thread and Amazon throws up the following purchasing possibilities;

Julia Fischer with Zinman [Decca]
Chang with Davis [EMI]
Vengerov with Masur
Faust with Belohlavek [Harmonia Mundi]

I would welcome any further recommendations and comments you might have for this very fine work.

[Sergeant Rock]

I would welcome any further recommendations and comments you might have for this very fine work.

Consider Mutter/Honeck/Berlin, my favorite version of the Concerto. Review with samples (comparing it to Suk) here:

http://www.classicstoday.com/review/mutters-miraculous-dvorak-concerto/?search=1


Sarge

[Mirror Image]

I can certainly vouch for the Mutter performance with Honeck. It's an outstanding performance.

[aligreto]

Consider Mutter/Honeck/Berlin, my favorite version of the Concerto. Review with samples (comparing it to Suk) here:

http://www.classicstoday.com/review/mutters-miraculous-dvorak-concerto/?search=1


Sarge

Thank you for that Sarge, especially for the link.

I can certainly vouch for the Mutter performance with Honeck. It's an outstanding performance.

and thank you for the reinforcement of the recommendation Mirror Image.

[Mirror Image]

and thank you for the reinforcement of the recommendation Mirror Image.

My pleasure!

[Herman]

There's also the Salzburger Festspiele recording with Suk, Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonia, 1963 mono, on Orfeo.

[mc ukrneal]

Milstein/Steinberg is outstanding and in pretty good sound. It can be found separately or in the excellent Steinberg box.

[aligreto]

There's also the Salzburger Festspiele recording with Suk, Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonia, 1963 mono, on Orfeo.

Interesting but I have looked on Amazon UK and cannot find that one.

[aligreto]

Milstein/Steinberg is outstanding and in pretty good sound. It can be found separately or in the excellent Steinberg box.

Thank you for that; yes Milstein is always worth a listen.

[Herman]

Interesting but I have looked on Amazon UK and cannot find that one.

https://www.amazon.de/Violinkonzert-Sinfonie-9-Suk/dp/B0000260RG/ref=sr_1_3?s=music-classical&ie=UTF8&qid=1466404325&sr=1-3&keywords=dvorak+ancerl+suk

it's mono

[Herman]

I may be an outlier here, but regarding the lack of enthusiasm displayed here by some: in my view Dvorak's "public" works (i.e. symphonic or concerto) just have a different texture than his best chamber music.

It works fine in the concert hall, but I have a hard time listening to Dvorak's big music at home. Even in the cello concerto I usually drift off, not making it to the last note.

While his best chamber works are equal to Brahms's quartets and quintets; most of his orchestral works aren't IMO  -  with the exception of symphonies 7 and 8. There's just not as much going on.

[Jo498]

I think Dvorak is overall most of the time more "relaxed" than Brahms and more reliant on tunes and color, less on counterpoint, motivic development etc. To me this seems generally true with only slight differences between the genres.

His most "Brahmsian" symphonies are probably 6 and 7 and the most un-Brahmsian, relying on rather different, "Dvorakian" material and organization the 8th. For me it depends to some extent on the mood which I prefer. I used to be not so fond of the 8th symphony because it seemed a somewhat haphazard collection of tunes without compelling structure and development. But now I sometimes think that this is more original than (almost) copying Brahms (e.g. in the first movement of the 6th the first from Brahms' 2nd).

For concertos a looser organization is fine (and Brahms' concertos might be too "symphonic" for their own good sometimes).

[Herman]

For concertos a looser organization is fine (and Brahms' concertos might be too "symphonic" for their own good sometimes).

you may have a point there.

[aligreto]

https://www.amazon.de/Violinkonzert-Sinfonie-9-Suk/dp/B0000260RG/ref=sr_1_3?s=music-classical&ie=UTF8&qid=1466404325&sr=1-3&keywords=dvorak+ancerl+suk

it's mono

Thank you for the link Herman and mono does not bother me