Antonín Dvořák; Vítězslav Novák - Spectre's Bride; The Storm (Jaroslav Krombholc)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák; Vítězslav Novák

CD1:

• (01-18) Dvořák - The Spectre's Bride, Op.69

CD2:

• (01) Dvořák - The Spectre's Bride, Op.69 (continued)
• (02-16) Novák - The Storm, Op. 42

Drahomíra Tikalová, soprano (Dvořák & Novák)
Maria Tauberová, soprano (Novák)
Beno Blachut, tenor (Dvořák & Novák)
Ladislav Mráz, baritone (Dvořák & Novák)
Vladimir Jedenáctík, bass (Novák)
Jaroslav Veverka, bass (Novák)

Czech Philharmonic Chorus
Josef Veselka, chorus master (Dvořák)
Jan Kühl, chorus master (Novák)

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Jaroslav Krombholc, conductor

Date: 1961, 1956
Label: Supraphon

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Review

PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ***

Apart from their status as grand monsters of the Czech choral repertoire, there is no particularly obvious reason for pairing these works, but their reissue is nonetheless welcome. Dvorák wrote The Spectre’s Bride for the Birmingham Festival of 1885. Its frankly macabre subject matter, in which a long-dead lover returns to claim his bride, had enormous appeal for Victorian audiences. Musically, it is vintage Dvorák, full of atmospheric choruses, rich lyricism and convincing dramatic tension. Krombholc’s excellent Sixties recording, for years the only one available, has many virtues, not least the singing of the bass Ladislav Mráz, a miracle of clear diction and narrative flair. The only downside, in what is a highly recommendable performance, is Drahomíra Tikalová’s Bride, who inclines to be squally above the stave. Novák’s The Storm, written at the height of his powers, is an arresting picture of life afloat and storms both external and internal – a kind of Czech equivalent to Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony. Krombholc’s reading captures Novák’s febrile and highly evocative writing superbly. Indeed, the whole issue is a fitting tribute to this fine conductor. The vintage recorded sound holds up well, though the dynamic range is more limited in the Novák.

-- Jan Smaczny, BBC Music Magazine

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 6
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/July01/Novak_Storm.htm

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. He was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition, after Bedřich Smetana. Following Smetana's nationalist example, many of Dvořák's works show the influence of Czech folk music, such as his  two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and the overwhelming majority of his songs. Dvořák wrote in a variety of forms: nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, more than 40 works of chamber music, and piano music.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k

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Vítězslav Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and pedagogue. Novak studied at the Prague Conservatory where he studied piano and attended Antonín Dvořák's masterclasses in composition. Stylistically, Novak was part of the neoromantic tradition, and his music has been occasionally considered an early example of Czech modernism. Novák's music nevertheless retained some elements of the late-Romantic style, with influence of French impressionism. Czechoslovak independence in 1918 and the Nazi occupation during WWII also sparked several patriotic compositions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%ADt%C4%9Bzslav_Nov%C3%A1k

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Jaroslav Krombholc (Prague, 30 January 1918 - 16 July 1983) was a Czech conductor. He studied at the Prague Conservatory with Vítězslav Novak and Vaclav Talich, among others. Afterward, he became conductor and director of different theatres, including the National Theater. He was succeeded as chief conductor and director of the National Theatre, Prague by Václav Talich. Krombholc made various recordings of Czech operas for Supraphon, notably Janáček's Káťa Kabanová, and Martinů's Julietta. Krombholc concentrated on conducting and composed only sporadically.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaroslav_Krombholc
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaroslav_Krombholc

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