Dvorak - Legends & Rhapsodies
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Label: Pentatone
Cat No: PTC5187221
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Orchestral
Release Date: 8th November 2024
Contents
Artists
Czech PhilharmonicConductor
Tomas NetopilWorks
Legends (10), op.59Slavonic Rhapsodies (3), op.45 B86
Artists
Czech PhilharmonicConductor
Tomas NetopilAbout
Dvořák’s Legends and Slavonic Rhapsodies, recorded by Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, Tomáš Netopil, marks the orchestra’s fourth recording featuring Czech composers in 2024’s Year of Czech Music.
Dvořák wrote his Slavonic Rhapsodies just before the Slavonic Dances that catapulted him to world fame, and they share their colourful orchestration and appealing folk dance melodies – even if the Rhapsodies have more expansive, ambitious forms. The Legends are at least as ingenious, with a smaller orchestra giving the pieces a more intimate, introspective quality. These lesser-known gems are now presented in a glorious idiomatic interpretation by the Czech Philharmonic, arguably the world’s best orchestra for this repertoire.
The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world’s orchestral gems, recognised for its rich tradition with the Czech masters as well as European repertoire. Together with their chief conductor and artistic director Semyon Bychkov, they have so far recorded for PENTATONE Mahler’s First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Symphonies (2022-2023), part of the complete Mahler cycle to be released by the label, as well as Smetana's Má vlast and Dvořák's Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Symphonies (2024). The Orchestra is also featured on the albums Folk Songs (2023) and Czech Songs (2024) recorded by Magdalena Kožená and Sir Simon Rattle. Principal Guest Conductor Tomáš Netopil makes his PENTATONE debut.
Dvořák wrote his Slavonic Rhapsodies just before the Slavonic Dances that catapulted him to world fame, and they share their colourful orchestration and appealing folk dance melodies – even if the Rhapsodies have more expansive, ambitious forms. The Legends are at least as ingenious, with a smaller orchestra giving the pieces a more intimate, introspective quality. These lesser-known gems are now presented in a glorious idiomatic interpretation by the Czech Philharmonic, arguably the world’s best orchestra for this repertoire.
The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world’s orchestral gems, recognised for its rich tradition with the Czech masters as well as European repertoire. Together with their chief conductor and artistic director Semyon Bychkov, they have so far recorded for PENTATONE Mahler’s First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Symphonies (2022-2023), part of the complete Mahler cycle to be released by the label, as well as Smetana's Má vlast and Dvořák's Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Symphonies (2024). The Orchestra is also featured on the albums Folk Songs (2023) and Czech Songs (2024) recorded by Magdalena Kožená and Sir Simon Rattle. Principal Guest Conductor Tomáš Netopil makes his PENTATONE debut.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1Legends No 1 Allegretto
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2Legends No 2 Molto moderato
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3Legends No 3 Allegro giusto
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4Legends No 4 Molto maestoso
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5Legends No 5 Allegro giusto
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6Legends No 6 Allegro con moto
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7Legends No 7 Allegretto grazioso
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8Legends No 8 Un poco Allegretto e grazioso
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9Legends No 9 Andante con moto
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10Legends No 10 Andante
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11Slavonic Rhapsodies No 1 in D major
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12Slavonic Rhapsodies No 2 in G minor
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13Slavonic Rhapsodies No 3 in A flat major
Europadisc Review
The Czech Philharmonic – an orchestra with an august history and a reputation to match – was recently voted ‘Orchestra of the Year’ at the Gramophone Awards, the only award determined by public vote. Listening to the fruits of their recent partnership with the Pentatone label, which include a still unfolding Mahler cycle as well as an acclaimed account of Smetana’s Má vlast (both with chief conductor Semyon Bychkov), it’s not hard to hear why. From the characterful woodwind to the supple strings and burnished but never overpowering brass, this is an orchestra at the peak of its game, as was stunningly evident during their two nights at this year’s BBC Proms in London. It’s tempting to conclude that the orchestra has entered another Golden Age, banishing memories of the slightly bumpy years following the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Regular readers of our Spin Doctor column will know that 2024 is the ‘Year of Czech Music’, as are all years ending with the digit ‘4’, and to round off the celebrations, Pentatone are now releasing a disc of two works by Dvořák that deserve to be far better known. The three Slavonic Rhapsodies of 1878 and the ten Legends of 1881 were composed at the height of Dvořák’s engagement with Czech national fervour. The Rhapsodies were composed around the same time as the perennially popular first set of Slavonic Dances, while the Legends were written shortly after the Violin Concerto and Sixth Symphony. It’s some years since the Czech Philharmonic recorded either work: they last set down the Legends in 2001 under Sir Charles Mackerras, while veteran Czech conductor Bohumil Gregor recorded the Rhapsodies in 1987.
It’s especially good, then, to welcome this new recording of both works under the baton of Tomáš Netopil, who until this year was one of the Czech Philharmonic’s two principal guest conductors. He directs performances that tap into the music’s Czechness, which is often relatively understated in comparison with the Slavonic Dances but nevertheless palpable in every bar. The strings have a lovely sheen which allows the details of the woodwind and horn writing to emerge without forcefulness. Best of all, the music really sings, with an almost vocal quality to the phrasing, emphasising Dvořák’s gift for lyricism in the Schubertian vein, with a tinge of nostalgia or sadness.
The Legends are real jewels, the longest no more than six minutes, the shortest under three, yet each seems to contain its own world in miniature, usually with a subtly contrasting middle section. The orchestra is relatively small-scale, and the scoring varies from piece to piece, yet there are countless imaginative touches that make every one of them a pleasure to listen to. Loveliest of all is no.6 in C sharp minor, which sways to a melody first heard in the tenor register of the strings, and a magical second theme lovingly coloured by the harp, while the central section has some gorgeous woodwind solos and teasing upbeats in the violins. The main theme is transformed at the start of the seventh Legend into something quite different: the pieces (originally written for piano duet but seemingly destined for orchestration) needn't be performed as a set, but hearing them in succession shines light on such details. Others could be mentioned: the clucking exchanges between woodwind and horns in the later stages of no.8 are one vivid example, the sense of barely-contained excitement at the opening of no.9 another.
The Rhapsodies are drawn on a larger canvas, each lasting around 13 minutes, and their contrasting characters – with the dramatically engaging no.2 placed between the two more expansive outer works. If the Legends are vignettes, the Rhapsodies are more akin to landscapes, and the use of the rhapsody form allows for an abundance of ideas, from hints of village band to wide landscapes and even epic scenes. Yet the absence of a set programme allows Dvořák the freedom to develop ideas without a narrative straitjacket, and the music flows with an ease and naturalness that few other composers have matched, let alone surpassed. Favourite moments are too many to mention, but include the village clarinets in the First Rhapsody, as well as its ecstatic climax. The Second is given a gripping performance, with the quiet passage for harp and muted horn before the final joyful close beautifully balanced and paced. The Third Rhapsody opens with a bardic harp solo reminiscent of Má vlast, but it leads eventually to one of Dvořák’s most varied and invigorating soundscapes ever.
None of this music would be out of place in one of the composer’s mature symphonies, and all are played with the level of musicianship and sheer engagement with which the Czech Philharmonic are synonymous. Netopil directs with a sure hand on the tiller, knowing exactly when to ratchet up the tension and when to relax. At just over 80 minutes in length, this is a marvellous and generous pairing, enhanced by a vivid recording in Prague’s Rudolfinum and excellent notes by Jan Smaczny. Lovers of Czech music need not hesitate!
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