Search - Antonin Dvorak, Jiri Belohlavek, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra :: Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 8/The Golden Spinning Wheel

What a frustrating disc! The performance of the Eighth is really lovely, and it's beautifully recorded too. Unfortunately, Jiri Belohlávek makes a "traditional" (which means utterly unjustified and uncalled for) cut in the symphonic poem. Granted the piece does repeat the section in question three times, but that's the whole point of the story, after all; Dvorák could just as easily have written the music out once if that was what he wanted. Since there are lots of better choices for this music (Rafael Kubelík, for example, in both works), this disc makes no particular claims on your time or your wallet. --David Hurwitz