Conductor Jose Serebrier enters upon a full cycle of the Dvorak symphonies with reverence: this disc presents his third recorded version of the New World Symphony , in which he here takes the first movement repeat. The seamless and thrilling writing of the C Major Slavonic Dance first assaults us; then we experience the same sumptuous patina in the AdagioβAllegro molto of the New World.
No list of personnel accompanies the disc, but the English horn solo and string-quartet intimacies of the Largo prove beguiling. Resonant and athletic, the Scherzo: molto vivace proceeds with its war-chant, the strings buoyant and the triangle adding its bit of irreplaceable color.
The secondary tune might have been conceived especially to invoke Hiawatha. The final movement combines febrile drive and inspirited melodic contour, the degree of nuance in the divided string choirs, supported by full-blooded brass work, ensures a thrilling experience.
No review should ignore the fine tympani work, particularly as it taps out the five-note motto under the somber horns prior to the rousing coda. Essentially a Praeludio followed by a series of Slavonic Dances , the suite projects an immediate charm that cannot be denied. Individual woodwind colors tint the scene with nostalgia and that transcendentalist sensibility we read in Thoreau. The Polka gently conveys, Allegretto grazioso , the flavor of the bucolic life invested with national costumes.
Deft woodwind writing in the Sousedska Minuetto movement points to the equally piquant writing of the Wind Serenade, Op. The sustained melodic line again testifies to the splendid sonic aura the Bournemouth Symphony can project when properly induced by its conductor, courtesy of recording producer, engineer, and editor Phil Rowlands. The prancing figures of the finale, an alternately delicate and aggressive Furiant: Presto, celebrate the glories of the Czech sensibility with that alchemical mix of strength and yearning that link Dvorak to Schumann and the Romantics in uncanny musical kinship.
