The great success of the 15-CD set Ančerl Live Recordings (2022 – Choc de Classica, Diapason d’Or, etc.) and of the series Ančerl Gold Edition (2002–2008) is indicative of Karel Ančerl’s firm standing among the most important conductors of the post-war world. The present album ties in with the boxed set mentioned above; this time, our selection from the Czech Radio archive contains live recordings with the conductor Ančerl in the role of an accompanist. The list of soloists he invited for collaboration is imposing. Predominant among these names are world-famous artists from the Soviet Union, to which Czechoslovakia was allied in those days, with Prague serving as the Eastern Bloc’s gateway to the West .

The greatest treasures are the two oldest recordings: unique documentation of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto with David Oistrakh (1950), which played a major part in the choice of Ančerl as the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic after Kubelík’s emigration, and the oldest recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Rostropovich, issued here for the first time, made two weeks before Rostropovich’s legendary studio recording with Václav Talich. Often, however, the artists standing to Ančerl’s left were stars coming to Prague from the West as well as great Czech artists. The album authentically captures the unrepeatable performances of soloists and orchestra. All of these recordings have been carefully remastered from the original analogue tapes. Lovers of historical recordings will not hesitate.