Dvorak Symphonies 7 and 8 which are your faves?

[BeethovensQuill]

I was just wondering what recordings people enjoyed of these 2 symphonies, ive been listening to these works for the last few weeks either on CD or just in my head, and for me are Dvorak's best 2 symphonies.  I have really enjoyed the latest offering from Flor on BIS the sound is excellent and there is a lot of passion in the playing really bringing to light the joy of the 8th.  I really enjoy Kubelik in the 7th but after listening to Flor account of the 7th on the naxos music library im very tempted by that.  Ive listened to Kriezberg's recordings of 7 and 8 but they dont quite work for me.

However on Kreizberg i very much enjoyed his recording of Mahler's 5th that came out a few months ago, there are a few things that maybe dont work as well but the way he allows the music to flow up to the climaxes in each movement is beatifully judged and ive never heard the big climaxes sound better.  The strings could have maybe been beefed up but there is lots of clarity in the recording.

[waderice]

I don't know D7 like I know D8, but there was an historical recording of D8 (recorded in real stereo, in 1953!) by Thor Johnson and the Cincinnati Symphony, that was originally in mono on the Remington LP label, but appeared many years later, in stereo, on the Varese Sarabande LP label.  That recording helped me learn to appreciate D8, and sounds quite good, despite the dated sound.  You probably will only be able to find this in a used record store, if you're able to play LPs.

Rafael Kubelik was recognized as an authoritative interpreter of Dvorak's symphonies, but Istvan Kertesz, also a recognized Dvorak interpreter, was the first to record a complete cycle of the symphonies on London/Decca, which BTW, is still available, and which is a part of my library.

Wade

[Damfino]

I tend to always go back to Kertesz for Dvorak. His cycle was recorded in the 60's, and every time I try to find a more recent Dvorak symphony recording, I never seem to find any as exciting as Kertesz. I also have the cycles by Kubelik and Rowicki. All are good, but Kubelik's sonics are thin and lightweight to me. The 8th is my favorite Dvorak symphony, and the horn-driven finale is just more exciting to me in Kertesz' version over all others.

The best recent recording recordings I've heard of 7, 8 and 9 have been Harnoncourt's with the RCO. I have the Kreizberg 7th, which is pretty good (and includes the Golden Spinning Wheel), but did not care for his 8th. The multi-channel sonics in SACD are very fine.

That said, I still end up listening to Kertesz the most often. I guess it's a case of I "tried the rest, but came back to the best".

[waderice]

That said, I still end up listening to Kertesz the most often. I guess it's a case of I "tried the rest, but came back to the best".

With so many conductors cranking out Mahler symphony recordings by the bushel nowadays, it could end up being the same for conductors like Bernstein, Solti, Haitink, Abravanel, and Kubelik, who were the earliest to record complete cycles, and who many Mahler aficionados may likely end up going back to.

Wade

[akiralx]

The Flor 7th SACD is indeed very good, I don't have the 8th yet.  But for that symphony ( the Ivan Fischer SACD is superb.

Other 7ths I like are Czech PO/ Neumann on Supraphon and for a weighty version Concertgebouw/Giulini on Sony.

[James Meckley]

I certainly agree about the Fischer Dvorak 7—a wonderful performance beautifully recorded. For a couple of Old Masters, try Monteux/London or Szell/Cleveland (the Masterworks Heritage release for best sound).

I care much less for the Eighth (maybe I've recorded it too many times), but Bruno Walter's recording has always satisfied.

James

[barry guerrero]

The new Fischer D7 is great, as is most everything coming from that source these days. Andre Previn made a very good one on Telarc with the L.A. Phil. I think it's out-of-print now, but there was a very good D7/D8 disc with Dohnanyi/Cleveland on Decca. His 9th, on the other hand, was simply too bland to be competitive.

As for D8 - a piece I'm a bit more critical of - I've always like the one Karajan made with the VPO in the '60s. It's one of those classic Sofiensaal/Decca recordings. This one had a lot of 'swing' in the third movement, and Karajan didn't take the 'second subject' in the slow movement too slowly, as many conductors do (I hate that!). By 'second subject', I'm talking about the part that begins with fast, descending runs in the violins (16th notes), soon to be followed up by a new melody taken up by the flutes (which eventually leads to the famous trumpet fanfare). So many conductors take this light passage at an absolute crawl.

In truth, there are plenty of satisfactory recordings of both symphonies. I'm sure the recent ones on Naxos are perfectly 'serviceable'.

[del Río]

This one is for me the best 7th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfBz6jQkT3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFadlogmifw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz9HOuJ6y_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOPQIN0eFWw

[Clov]

[Prospero]

I would suggest Vaclav Talich with the Czech PO: 7 (1938) and 8 (1935).

One version is available on Naxos 8.111045.

Tom in Vermont