0 Dvorák: String Quintet & String Sextet

Dvorák’s chamber music is one of the most popular parts of his repertoire and contains some classics of the genre. Thoroughly Romantic, endlessly imaginative and imbued with Slavonic fire, the String Quintet and String Sextet are elegantly performed by the virtuoso musicians of The Raphael Ensemble.

'Delightful works, delightfully played' --Gramophone

'Warmly effusive playing, captured in exquisite sound' --American Record Guide

Detail: Dvorák: String Quintet & String Sextet

0 New Worlds: Copland, Dvorak, Ives

The Knights are an orchestra not affiliated with a city or an institution of learning such as a university, and they are committed to taking orchestral music out of the concert hall and directly to the people through playing non-traditional venues such as New York City's landmark restaurant Le Poisson Rouge. Sony's disc New Worlds was inspired by a program prepared by The Knights for the annual Dresden Music Festival, which chose as its theme the concept of "New Worlds" for its 2009 edition. 

These recordings, however, were made in Sony's Legacy Studios in New York and not at the festival itself, and for the better, as they have a great sense of presence while maintaining orchestral depth. This works very well for the splendid version of Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question included; for once, listeners are not straining to hear the string chorus and having the foreground elements smack them in the face, but all is well-balanced. Gabriela Lena Frank's Leyendas is a spicy and effervescently rhythmic confection that utilizes "new music" techniques in a wry and humorous fashion, whereas Dvorák's Silent Woods is indeed woody, wide, and fully achieved in a standard romantic idiom, perhaps the ultimate test of the mettle of a new century orchestra; how well can than they do standard, 19th century fare? If you're The Knights and cello soloist Jan Vogler, about as well as the Czech Philharmonic does Dvorák.

The Golijov is both bristling with energy and tension and played with precision; well done, especially when one considers the rather complex rhythmic profile of the piece. Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring closes out the show, and The Knights' -- and conductor Eric Jacobsen's -- attentiveness to detail pays off in the Copland, which for some established orchestras can sound like a tired old warhorse. That said, it doesn't quite crackle with the electricity encountered in older recordings by Antal Dorati or Copland himself, but The Knights' reading is fresher than many to most interpretations of this very commonly recorded piece. Listen up, orchestras of the classical establishment: here is your competition. In order to keep pace with what The Knights can offer in lithe limberness and immediacy, the big concert orchestras might need to put in some time at the gymnasium; suffice it is to say that New Worlds is a refreshing change over usual orchestral fare. --allmusic.com

Detail: New Worlds: Copland, Dvorak, Ives

0 Czech Choral Music

The Prague Chamber Choir was founded in 1990 and has appeared throughout the world with leading orchestras, and with distinguished conductors including Zubin Mehta and Alberto Zedda. Tours have taken the choir throughout Germany, France and Italy and to Japan and Australia. It was a guest at the World Exhibition in Seville, and its concerts have been broadcast by, among others, the BBC, Bavarian Radio, ORF and RAI. The choir appears regularly at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and at Wexford.

Detail: Czech Choral Music

0 Dvorak: Symphony No. 7, Etc

“You have a definite sense of a charted terrain, with subtle shifts of pace as the scenery changes...Flor achieves a pleasing lift at the start of the Scherzo and I like the way the Trio floats into earshot. The finale is powerful...Othello in particular is superb and the Malaysian Philharmonic play brilliantly throughout.” --Gramophone Magazine, August 2012

“Flor's account of Symphony No. 7 lacks drama but is well compensated by colourful performances of The Wild Dove and the Othello Overture.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 ****

“Flor paces the music through to its ultimate stasis with unerring control...[there's] little to fault in the playing of the Malaysian forces or the wide-ranging sound” --International Record Review, June 2012

Detail: Dvorak: Symphony No. 7, Etc