101 Classical Music CDs

It's ironic that Dvorak's Seventh Symphony and his Eighth Symphony are commonly found on the same CD, because they are a study in contrasts. The Seventh Symphony is as dark and stormy as the Eighth is joyful. The Eighth is suffused with Slavic folk tunes, while the Slavic themes in the Seventh, if they show themselves at all, appear late in the work in camouflaged form. ********************** Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) Symphonies 7 and 8 EMI, 1990 ********************** But there is one thing Dvorak's Seventh and Eighth Symphonies inevitably share: both are unjustifiably overshadowed by his more commonly performed Ninth. I'm grateful that this blog has caused to listen closely to these two symphonies. Until I started this blog I had never heard Dvorak's Sixth, Seventh or Eighth Symphonies, despite the fact that for years they've been sitting over on my CD rack collecting dust. Listener notes for Dvorak's Sev...

In the eyes of the average casual classical music listener, Dvorak's Eighth Symphony is generally overshadowed by his much more widely known Ninth Symphony. But in the eyes of true Dvorak lovers, however, the Eighth is more popular by far. Real Dvorak fans cherish the raucous and exuberant folk music of Dvorak's native Bohemia--and that's exactly what suffuses this symphony. It makes listening to this symphony an experience of pure joy. And at an all-too-brief 35 minutes or so in length, this thrilling symphony is over before it begins. ********************** Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) Symphonies 7 and 8 EMI, 1990 ********************** Dvorak's Eighth Symphony is proof that not all great symphonies are conceived in suffering. Occasionally a symphony--like this one, or Brahms' Second--bursts out of a composer during a period of contentment and happiness. And Dvorak composed this entire work in just two and a half...

We return to Dvorak after an extremely long hiatus to listen to his Sixth Symphony, performed on a CD recorded live by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Colin Davis. ********************** Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) Dvorák: Symphony No. 6 LSO Live, 2004 ********************** If you're in the early stages of building a classical music collection and are wondering whether you should include this work, let me be brief: don't bother. Dvorak has more impressive symphonies. If you want his best-known work, get this excellent recording of his Ninth; if you want to impress your friends with your originality by owning one of Dvorak's less-well-known work, then get the Seventh or Eighth Symphony (or both--they can be found on one CD here). This symphony was beautiful and well-played, don't get me wrong. But I failed to connect with it on an emotional level, and the four movements just didn't seem to go ...

I'm going to start with the Czech composer Dvorak (1841-1904) and his 7th Symphony, written in 1885. Of course, everybody who even slightly knows any classical music will know Dvorak's 9th Symphony, or at least recognize the famous melody in the second movement. But I already know that one. So I'm starting with the somewhat more obscure 7th. I actually have two recordings of Dvorak's 7th: one is by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch in a 1990 CD of Dvorak's Symphony #7 and Symphony #8; the other is the London Symphony Orchesta in a 2001 CD, conducted by Sir Colin Davis in a live recording. The Philly Orchestra recording is considerably better. It sounds cleaner and fuller. And something about the London Symphony's trumpet players bugs me--they feel underfed and they play off key at times. But those are minor criticisms. There's actually a New York connection with Dvorak, as he was the director the New York Conservatory of Music fr...