Collector alert: This is not yet another reissue of Colin Davis’ Concertgebouw recording of Dvorák’s last symphony, but Antal Dorati’s from 1959. It’s worth remembering that this symphony is, until the final bars, largely tragic in demeanor, and Dorati underlines the fact by bringing out the menacing trombones in the excitingly played outer movements, and by finding a genuine vein of sadness in the Largo’s wistful second theme (after the splendidly played English horn solo). The scherzo is also splendidly taut, with crisp rhythms and very clean bass lines in the opening theme’s imitative passages. Best of all, the sonics still offer remarkable freshness and impact. This is a really fine performance all around.
Having the Cello Concerto as a coupling makes this disc quite a bargain. Heinrich Schiff remade the piece with Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic for Philips, a version that I find preferable for its more incisive approach to rhythm and generally higher level of tension. Still, there’s a great deal of very beautiful playing here, and if the finale comes across as somewhat soft-grained in comparison with what Schiff achieved later, he’s still one of the finer exponents of this work on disc. I say this knowing full well that many regard Rostropovich as the reference in this work, usually with Karajan (though I lean toward his Erato recording with Ozawa). It also makes lots of sense to couple the two major orchestral works of Dvorák’s “American” period. Any way you look at it, this Australian Eloquence release is a winner.
