Marin Alsop dirigiert Dvořák - CD des Monats JUNI 2008

Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony No. 9
Symphonic Variations, Op. 78
Theme – Variations 1-27 – Finale
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, ‘From the New World’
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA • MARIN ALSOP
Recorded live at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, USA,
from 8th to 10th June 2007
(Symphony No. 9) and on 14th, 15th and 17th June 2007
(Symphonic Variations)

Diese Aufnahme mit dem Baltimore Symphony Orchestra unter der Dirigentin Marin Alsop ist die erste von drei CDs mit den Sinfonien von Antonín Dvořák, die alle live bei Konzerten in der Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, USA, aufgezeichnet wurden.

Die populärste aller Dvořák-Sinfonien, Nr. 9 Aus der neuen Welt , hat durch den Eindruck des schier unerschöpflichen Melodie-Flusses und der perlenden Orchestrierung eine sofortige Sogwirkung. Im Jahre 1892 betrat Dvořák zum ersten Mal amerikanischen Boden, um den lukrativen und prestigeträchtigen Posten als Direktor des National Conservatory of Music in New York anzunehmen. Zu dieser Zeit war Dvořák bereits ein weltbekannter Komponist.

Noch immer spricht aus dieser Sinfonie ein zeitloser, optimistischer Pioniergeist. Die

pulsierenden Metropolen der USA sind in den wunderbaren musikalischen Themen ebenso wahrzunehmen wie die Weite der Prärie. Dvořák ließ sich von indianischen Legenden inspirieren, lässt jedoch durch typische böhmische Klänge auch seine Sehnsucht nach der Heimat deutlich werden.

Am 16. Dezember 1893 erlebte die Sinfonie Aus der neuen Welt durch das Orchester der Philharmonischen Gesellschaft unter der Leitung des deutschen Dirigenten Anton Seidl in der Carnegie Hall ihre Uraufführung. Nach stürmischen Ovationen des Publikums wurde das Largo noch einmal dargeboten.

Antonin DVORÁK: Symphony No. 9 (”From the New World”)
Symphonic Variations, Op. 78
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Recorded Live in Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
June 6 – 10, 2007 (Symphony No. 9); June 14, 15, & 17, 2007
(Symphonic Variations).

In 2007-2008, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Marin Alsop embarked on a new partnership with the Naxos label to record a three-disc series of Antonin Dvorák’s Symphonies Nos. 5-9 and Symphonic Variations. On May 27, Naxos of America releases the first disc of the series, which features Maestro Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performing Dvorák’s beloved Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’ and the Symphonic Variations, Op. 78. Recorded live during performances at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in June 2007, this is the BSO’s second commercial release since Marin Alsop was appointed Music Director in 2007.

On the series of new recordings, Maestro Alsop has commented:

 ”I’m thrilled to be part of this new collaboration between the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Naxos. The BSO is an outstanding orchestra with a great legacy—one that will now be captured on Naxos Records.  Both Naxos and the Baltimore Symphony are innovators and leaders in their respective areas, so their partnership is both timely and fitting.”

“I am also very pleased that the late Dvorák Symphonies are the first focus of this new relationship.  Dvorák’s Symphonies are often overshadowed by the later Romantic repertoire, but they deserve a special place in music history. They are distinctive, melodically and structurally surprising, and extraordinarily rewarding for musicians and audiences alike.”

“We look forward with much anticipation to our new relationship with Naxos.”

The most popular of all Dvorák’s works, Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’ is immediately appealing by virtue of its inexhaustible flow of melody and its sparkling orchestration. Based on “I am a fiddler,” a melody Dvorák had composed for men’s chorus, the Symphonic Variations are among his most beautifully crafted and beguiling works.

Among the highlights of Marin Alsop’s acclaimed recording collaboration with Naxos are a Brahms symphony cycle with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as an ongoing series of recordings with the Bournemouth Symphony, including Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and the symphonies of Kurt Weill. On the recent release of her performance of Brahms’s Third Symphony with the LPO, the Baltimore Sun said, “Alsop seems to have moved into a higher gear …The result is glowing music—making, rich in character and atmosphere.”