Search - Antonin Dvorak, Raymond Leppard, Witold Rowicki :: Dvorák: The Late Symphonies

Rowicki Is Best In The Early Works

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 05/18/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I concur with critic Hurwitz that the complete Rowicki set is "better played and recorded than Istvan Kertesz's." I think the same holds true versus Kubelik's set. However, Rowicki's fast, literal performances of Dvorak's three late symphonies are bettered by others. Here are my suggestions for putting together a satisfying collection of all nine symphonies:



#1. The early "Bells of Zlonice," rather in the same way as Bruckner's 1st, offers few suggestions of the masterworks that would come later. Rowicki's strikes me as a clear winner here.



#2. This was probably the best thing in the Kertesz set - but Rowicki for me is distinctly preferable.



#3. Rowicki is here, too, the clear choice in stereo. I still have a slight preference for the old mono Smetacek on Parliament LP.



#4. Again, Rowicki is the one to have in modern sound. The old Neumann on mono Parliament LP was perhaps a little more Czech in feeling.



#5. It is when we get to Symphonies 5-9 that Rowicki runs into stiff competition. He is my first choice in stereo, but a far more idiomatic performance by Karel Sejna and the Czech Phil. (with the greatest-ever readings of the lovely Slavonic Rhapsodies) was on Supraphon 1917. A fine, if rather Germanic, interpretation by Johannes Schuler and the Leipzig Radio was once on Urania LP.



#6. Here, I'm afraid Rowicki is out of his league. The finest ever in stereo was Ancerl's 1966 Czech Phil. account (with superb traversals of the overtures My Home, Husitska, and Carnival) on Supraphon. Even better was the 1938 Vaclav Talich on a Koch-Legacy CD. But my all-time favorite remains the wonderful 1951 Sejna/Czech Phil. (coupled with a glorious 7th) on Supraphon. The Scherzo (Furiant) under Sejna has a rustic swing that remains unmatched.



#7. Rowicki is excellent, but there are even better alternatives. In addition to Sejna, there was a magnificent 1938 first recording by Talich & the Czech Phil. (on Tahra, with Talich's 8 & 9). My favorite in stereo: Constantin Silvestri with the Vienna Phil. (in a 10-disc EMI CD set devoted to that superb conductor).



#8. Rowicki is rather faceless here. A better "straight" reading from George Szell/Cleveland was on EMI (his 1951 Amsterdam Concertgebouw account was also remarkable). I love the Silvestri/Royal Phil. on EMI - but some may find it over-romantic. The finest readings for me are all with the Czech Phil. The 1935 Talich (Tahra) was more expansive (slower) than his 1951 reading on Supraphon (coupled with benchmark accounts of In Nature's Realm, Carnival, and Othello). I adore both. An affectionate live version by Frantisek Stupka (1951) was on Arlecchino. Karel Ancerl's exciting live 1960 account (Praga) is preferable to his live 1970 reading with the Concertgebouw (in his volume of EMI's "Great Conductors" series).



#9. Rowicki disappears in a huge thicket of competing versions of the "New World." There is a reading for every taste - among those I would suggest auditioning are Erich Kleiber (Naxos), Oswald Kabasta (live 1941 on M&A, once mistaken for a Furtwangler performance), the 1940 Stokowski (M&A), the 1941 Mengelberg (Teldec, with a GREAT Franck D Minor), a 1948 Malko (Danacord; preferable to his later one on EMI), and the Fritz Reiner (RCA - that's how I learned the work). Silvestri's dramatic account (Angel LP) is not yet on CD. I would avoid the ponderous Bernstein (Sony), the neutral Jarvi (Chandos), the unidiomatic Karajan (EMI), the faceless Previn (Telarc), and the over-analyzed Giulini (Sony).



Unfortunately, the great Czech conductor Karel Sejna left no recording of 9 or 8. A very romantic version (c.1961) by Russian conductor Nicholai Anosov was once on a Melodiya LP - it took the first mvt. repeat (unusual back then). A nice live performance (1975) by Jaroslav Krombholc & the Prague Radio is on Multisonic. I have not run down a copy of Stupka's - he was Talich's second in command and was a flavorful Dvorak conductor. My two favorite conductors in this work are Talich and Ancerl, both with the Czech Phil. There are several Ancerls kicking around - I think his 1961 studio version (Supraphon) is best. Talich made three recordings - for me, the last one from 1954 (Supraphon) is THE New World to have, if you are having only one."

Delightful Dvorak

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 07/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Witold Rowicki's Complete Dvorak Symphony Cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra is truly something special. This Philips Duo CD is Volume 3 in a series, and this title collects his last three Symphonies. (Make sure you don't confuse this title with a similar Philips Duo CD featuring Symphonies 7-9 with Colin Davis -- see my review.) Rowicki's Dvorak Cycle has to be ranked with those by Kubelik and Kertesz as the three best performances available on disc. I started with the Kubelik, then got the Kertesz, but I may have saved the best for last. By the way, you should be prepared to get Volumes 1 & 2 after buying this one."

A Fine Set

Robert T. Martin | 12/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first encountered Maestro Rowicki's (1914-1989) Dvorak on a wonderful radio show called "First Hearing" hosted by Lloyd Moss. The show featured excerpts of newly issued classical recordings that were reviewed by a panel of three (I think) critics. Irving Kolodin was a frequent panelist. Anyhow one evening the last movement of Rowicki's Seventh was played to good reviews and I acquired the LP a few days later. It's been a favorite of mine ever since for what I can only describe as the "sweep and cragginess" of the performance and the wonderful sound.

Despite my fondness for the performances of all three symphonies in this set they face serious competition from the likes of Szell, Kubelik, Ancerl, Talich, etc. Nevertheless the interpretation, playing, sound and the bonus of Raymond Leppard's performances of the lovely Legends, Op. 59 make this "Twofer" a reasonable alternative.

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