Dvorák: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor Op. 104 & Symphonic Variations for Orchestra Op. 78

Dvorak's career was a worldwide success. He wrote his cello concerto in New York, it was rehearsed in Prague and premiered in London. Always full of tender feelings for his home country he lived an international life. He avoided speaking German though when possible and would never accept a job in Vienna. His cello concerto would become hugely popular all over the world and has occupied a significant place in the gallery of 19th century masterpieces. It took him four months to write but that reflects a freshness, a rise and shine attitude rather than the neurotic speed of city life. No teutonic bombast (Berlin), no Mahlerian pathos (Vienna), but healthy abundance of energy. Dreams but no Freud, profundity but no Angst. The orchestra is large and powerful, but this most symphonic of cello concertos doesn’t become a David and Goliath freak show. The tuttis can be seen as the background for a journey. The landscapes, by night or day, under moon or sunlight are sometimes awesome but never hostile and occasionally the hero revels in a heart-warming village party. There is also room for reflection and intimacy; the solo cello is beautifully supported both in song and prayer. (...) Pieter Wispelwey