Pieter Wispelwey, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer – Dvorak: Cello Concerto, Symphonic Variations (2007) [DSF DSD64/2.82MHz]

Antonin Dvorak – Cello Concerto, Symphonic Variations – Pieter Wispelwey, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer (2007)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:02:38 minutes | 2,49 GB | Genre: Classical
Source: ISO SACD | © Channel Classics Records B.V. | Recorded: December 2006, Palace of Arts, Budapest

Dvorak’s career was a worldwide success. He wrote his cello concerto in New York, it was rehearsed in Prague and premiered in London. Always full of tender feelings for his home country he lived an international life. He avoided speaking German though when possible and would never accept a job in Vienna. His cello concerto would become hugely popular all over the world and has occupied a significant place in the gallery of 19th century masterpieces. It took him four months to write but that reflects a freshness, a rise and shine attitude rather than the neurotic speed of city life. No teutonic bombast (Berlin), no Mahlerian pathos (Vienna), but healthy abundance of energy. Dreams but no Freud, profundity but no Angst. The orchestra is large and powerful, but this most symphonic of cello concertos doesnt become a David and Goliath freak show. The tuttis can be seen as the background for a journey. The landscapes, by night or day, under moon or sunlight are sometimes awesome but never hostile and occasionally the hero revels in a heart-warming village party. There is also room for reflection and intimacy; the solo cello is beautifully supported both in song and prayer. (…) -Pieter Wispelwey

This fine recording of Dvorák’s Cello Concerto by Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey with Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer leading the Budapest Festival Orchestra is as generous, honest, and compelling as the music itself. Wispelwey has a rich, ringing tone that can ride over orchestral tutti fortes yet still sound fully present in intimate pianissimos. He also has an elegant technique that can accomplish anything the work asks without calling undue attention to itself. These qualities allow him to lean into the work’s powerful drama and aching lyricism without dividing his attention. The commanding Fischer leads the rich-toned Budapest Festival Orchestra in an accompaniment as musically interesting and dramatically significant as the solo part. As a coupling, Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra turn in a performance of Dvorák’s infrequently programmed Symphonic Variations; it is as shapely as the venerable István Kertész account with the London Symphony. Recorded at a concert in Budapest’s Palace of Arts in 2006, Channel Classics’ super audio digital sound is extremely vivid and immediate. Though one might reasonably argue the considerable merits of the Casals/Szell or Rostropovich/Karajan recordings, for combination of performance and sound, this Wispelwey/Fischer recording could be the only one anyone would ever need. -AllMusic Review by James Leonard

Tracklist:
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Cello Concerto in B minor, B. 191, Op. 104
1 Allegro 15:15
2 Adagio ma non troppo 11:46
3 Finale. Allegro moderato 13:27
Symphonic Variations for orchestra (on “I am a Fiddler” B. 66/3), B. 70, Op. 78
4 Thema 0:37
5 Variation 1 0:30
6 Variation 2 0:31
7 Variation 3 0:29
8 Variation 4 0:32
9 Variation 5 0:21
10 Variation 6 0:45
11 Variation 7 0:30
12 Variation 8 0:46
13 Variation 9 0:26
14 Variation 10 0:24
15 Variation 11 0:51
16 Variation 12 0:44
17 Variation 13 0:25
18 Variation 14 0:53
19 Variation 15 0:54
20 Variation 16 0:16
21 Variation 17 0:45
22 Variation 18 0:45
23 Variation 19 0:38
24 Variation 20 0:18
25 Variation 21 0:19
26 Variation 22 0:32
27 Variation 23 0:40
28 Variation 24 2:10
29 Variation 25 0:28
30 Variation 26 0:39
31 Variation 27 0:35
32 Finale 4:29