Antonín Dvorák Symphony No.6 in D, Op.60 Vodnik, Op.107 (The Water Goblin - Der Wassermann) Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam Yakov Kreizberg – conductor PTC 5186 302 DSD recorded Download Biographies - Discographies in PDF Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Amsterdam English German French Yakov Kreizberg English German French

 

 

The fruits of megalomania Antonín Dvorák (1841 – 1904) is the second in a row of four consecutive generations of composers who supplied the Czech Republic with its musical reputation: Smetana, Dvorák, Janácek and Martinù. Until he turned 37, Dvorák was no more than a Prague musician, a viola-player in the National Opera Orchestra. In his free time, he composed; he had already written five symphonies, but no-one was really interested in them. In 1878, Johannes Brahms – who was at the time the advisor with regard to the awarding of state study grants in the Austrian empire (to which the Czech Republic belonged) – was presented with one of Dvorák’s compositions, entitled Moravian Duets. Brahms decided to support Dvorák. In addition, he put him in touch with a publisher in Vienna. Subsequently, Dvorák submitted a number of compositions entitled Slavonic Dances, which won him the approval of the public. These compelling pieces made such an impression on leading conductor Hans Richter, that he commissioned Dvorák to write a symphony for the Vienna Philharmonic. The work was completed by the late summer of 1880. This was to become Dvorák’s sixth symphony, although it was only the first to be published, following its world première in Prague in 1881. The symphony was performed successfully all over the place, and from that time onwards the composer was included in the “walhalla” of European music. However, the Symphony No. 6 is not a surprising or innovative work as far as content or form is concerned. The four movements have a predominantly positive character; there is no question of a dramatic expression of feeling. Here and there, the style of composition dovetails with that of Brahms, especially in the latter’s Symphony No. 2 (1877), written in the same key of D major. Sweetly flowing, folk-like melodies which instantly become fixed in the memory (such as the first theme from the first movement), dancing rhythms and at times virtuoso passages ensure insouciant and pleasurable listening. Halfway through the second movement (Adagio) an ominous build-up occurs, which swings the mood into one of melancholy, but that is due to an artistic contrast effect. The third movement is exciting, a Scherzo based on the fiery rhythm of a Slavonic dance (the furiant). Dvorák had imitated Smetana’s national element. Symphonic narrative Vodník This characteristic of Czech self-awareness is clearly expressed in five symphonic poems written by Dvorák after returning in 1895 from his three-year stay in New York (where he had composed his Symphony No. 9 From the New World). Vodník, otherwise known as The Water Goblin (1896) is the first of the series Op.107 to Op. 111, which is based on ballads collected and adapted by the Czech national poet Karel Jaromir Erben. The fate of a peasant girl is presented during the symphonic narration, which lasts about twenty minutes. Despite warnings from her mother, she goes to a nearby lake. A water goblin lives there, who lusts after maidens coming there to bathe or do the washing. Right at the beginning of the piece, the theme of the water goblin can be heard, a motif which develops from an elegant and seductive mood to one of menace and dominance; it weaves its way throughout the entire narration. Subsequently, Dvorák portrays both mother and daughter, with the final result of the dark depths of the lake, where the water goblin imprisons his women: the portrayal of the underwater world sounds magical. He also fathers a child from his latest conquest, who then serves as collateral for a one-day return to the upper world, as the girl is overcome with yearning for her mother (expressed in a melancholy lullaby for flute and oboe). The latter manages to prevent her daughter returning by the curfew; by breaking her promise, a storm is unleashed, during which the water goblin appears, kills their child and throws it into the house. For this scene, Dvorák used every vehement effect available to him in the romantic orchestral palette. A few years later, Dvorák wrote his beautiful opera Rusalka about another water goblin and his daughter, in which he elaborated in an even more magnificent manner the art of portraying nature in music. top

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“Certainly not just another same old Mozart release for his 250th Anniversary - this is a superb interpretation and recording that easily stands up to any of the competition.”
--John Sunier, audophile audition

“Evident again is the combination of scrupulous attention to detail with a spontaneity that gives the music sparkle and wit.”
--Michael Kennedy, Sunday Telegraph

“Fischer's sound is lighter and leaner than Mutter's, her style of phrasing more poised, line being paramount, her vibrato quick but subtly deployed. The Third Concerto's Adagio is a model of sublime composure, the outer movements aided considerably by nicely characterised support from the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra under Yakov Kreizberg. “…I'd say that anyone on the look-out for a digitally recorded CD of Mozart violin concertos could hardly do better.”
--Robert Cowan , The Independent

“With smart and elegant support from the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Yakov Kreizberg this is a musically engaging and rewarding issue, one complemented by a naturally balanced recording, Fischer integrated with the orchestra – the only audiophile possibility when the soloist offers such wonderful true, clean and perceptive turns of phrase without egotistical dominance. Volume two please!”
--Colin Anderson, classicalsource.com

“Disc of the Month, BBC Music Magazine (September 2005)
"Fischer does it again....every note gives the impression of being there for a reason, articulated through attack,, dynamic, phrasing and timbre, but at the same time integrated into the whole." performance*****, sound*****

--Martin Cotton, BBC Music Magazine

“Astonishing maturity from this young player produces some magical Mozart. …. The SA-CD sound is superb.. and the qyality and integrity of Fischer’s playing bode well for future volumes.”
--David Vickers, Gramophone

“Playing the violin seems to be innate for Julia Fischer. Mozart is more than just the notes on the page and she knows that. Her phrasing, her effective use of dynamics and esthetic pauses, and her slow tempos give her music a spiritual quality. To put it simply, Julia Fischer is a true artist, absolutely, one of the "up-and-comers."
--Julie Amacher, Minnesota public radio

“Julia Fischer is another young violinist of prodigous talent and musicianship. Her elegant and stylish performances of two Mozart concertos with Yakov Kreizberg conducting complementary accompaniments will delight all who have admired the qualities which make her Bach exceptional. Evident again is the combination of scrupulous attention to detail with a spontaneity that gives the music sparkle and wit. She provides her own cadenzas in certain movements and in the Adagio K. 261 and the Rondo K. 269 which complete this admirably recorded disk.
--Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph

“Fischer's sound is lighter and leaner than Mutter's, her style of phrasing more poised, line being paramount, her vibrato quick but subtly deployed.”
--Robert Cowan, The Independent

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