Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra reviews

Chorus of Dutch National Opera; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Mariss Jansons; dir. Stefan Herheim (C Major)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Daniele Gatti (RCO Live)

Since its spectacularly successful premiere in 1893, Dvorák’s Symphony From the New World has enjoyed almost universal popularity. The composer was quick to realise its star potential and volunteered it for programming on a number of occasions and he himself conducted it in the inaugural concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1896. That its attractions continue to captivate the listening public both at home and in the concert hall is a tribute to Dvorák’s extraordinary ability to read his audience.

Harnoncourt’s performances of Dvorák’s Seventh and Eighth Symphonies have to date excited near-universal enthusiasm. The hallmark of his readings is a scrupulous attention to detail that liberates these well-known works from anything that could be described as routine. His rendition of the New World is without question a revelation. Listeners and interpreters alike will benefit hugely from a pervasive unfussiness and respect for Dvorák’s orchestration that penetrates deep into the fabric of the work.

Sombre and urgent matters underlie Dvorák’s Seventh Symphony. Its opening theme occurred to the composer while watching the arrival of a train in Prague, but it is much more than the idle fancy of an enthusiastic train spotter: the train contained anti-Habsburg patriots. Unfortunately, Giulini homes in on the sombre rather than the urgent aspects of the work. Tempi are slow and he has a tendency to dwell unduly on small details; as he stoops to pick each wayside flower, the pace flags, with fatal results.