Dvorak: Symphony No. 9; The Water Goblin DVD

Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra well and truly hit the jackpot with their marvellous Teldec account of Dvorák's eighth symphony. Happily, the present New World (like the eighth, the excellent engineering emanates from a live concert) is just as cherishable, as electrifyingly intense, sublimely articulate and probing an interpretation of this indestructible war-horse as has appeared in many a long moon. Time and again, Harnoncourt has you gasping anew at the wondrous melodic freshness and astounding textural subtlety of Dvorák's inspiration:... he really does have the special gift of making you feel you're hearing this music for the very first time. The slow movement is specially affecting, the great cor anglais melody delivered with the utmost simplicity, while the scherzo ideally combines rhythmic buoyancy with affectionate warmth. Best of all, both outer movements are invested with an towering symphonic majesty that sweeps all before it. The performance of the 1896 tone-poem The Water Goblin is comparably distinguished, a vividly dramatic and grippingly atmospheric display, featuring (once again) some magnificent playing from the great Dutch orchestra. A most exciting release.--Andrew Achenbach [show more]

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