"This is a set that no one who cares about Dvorák’s symphonies can afford to ignore... these performances really do belong in every serious collection.
Supraphon has finally released Václav Neumann’s 1970s Dvorák symphony cycle, and what a wonderful event it is. These performances are, on the whole, fresher and freer than his digital remakes, fine though those are, and more warmly recorded. The only exception is the somewhat shrill engineering in the First Symphony, but in general the sonics are comparable to other cycles of the period—Kertész, Kubelik, and Rowicki—and this is unquestionably the best played of them all. It’s difficult to overestimate the value of having the Czech Philharmonic in top form in this music, but the sound of the ensemble really does speak for itself. Kubelik’s Berlin Philharmonic might have the best strings, and the London Symphony for Kertész and Rowicki the boldest horns, but the Czech Philharmonic has the best ensemble, top to bottom, at least in Dvorák. (...)"
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904):
CD1:
Symphony No.1 in C minor, sine op. (B 9)
CD2:
Symphony No.2 in B flat major, op.4 (B 12)
CD3:
Symphony No.3 in E flat major, op.10 (B 23)
Symphony No.4 in D minor, op.13 (B 41)
CD4:
Symphony No.5 in F major, op.76 (B 54)
Symphonic Variations, op.78 (B 70)
CD5:
Symphony No.6 in D major, op.60 (B 112)
Symphony No.7 in D minor, op.70 (B 141)
CD6:
Symphony No.8 in G major, op.88 (B 163)
"In Nature's Realm" - Concert Overture, op.91 (B 168)
"Carnival" - Concert Overture, op.92 (B 169)
"Othello" - Concert Overture, op.93 (B 174)
CD7:
Symphony No.9 in E minor "From the New World", op.95 (B 178)
CD8:
"The Water Goblin" - Symphonic Poem, op.107 (B 195)
"The Noon Witch" - Symphonic Poem, op.108 (B 196)
"The Golden Spinning Wheel" - Symphonic Poem, op.109 (B 197)
"The Wild Dove" - Symphonic Poem, op.110 (B 198)
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Václav Neumann - conductor