Dvorak: Symphony No.9 from the New World

Rating:
Summary: Hair raising indeed
Review: I have just posted a review on Gardiner's interpretation of Beethoven's 9th symphonies. This because my feeling is the same for both : the dramatic interpretation is absolutely hair-raising as put by another reviewer. They also share an amazing recording quality. Interpertations like these make for pure musical moments of pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Pure, raw magic. Powerful. Splendid. SOLTI at his BEST.
Review: I rarely borrow other reviewers' words - but here, the others who have reviewed this CD before me have used very apt phrases, and I agree completely. Here's a summary of what the others have been saying in praise of Solti's magnificent performance of Dvorak's New World Symphony:

"Interpertations like these make for musical moments of pure pleasure ... intensely dramatic ... he seems to emphasize the raw emotional power of Dvorak's score ... sound ... is surprisingly first rate for an early digital recording ... Solti's trademark driving intensity is very much in evidence ... the climaxes in the first, third and final movements (are) absolutely hair-raising ... a good performance that revels in the sheer power of this music ... the first CD I have to replace due to over-playing ... Absolutely amazing ... Simply the best interpretation of Dvorak's 9th symphony in recent years ... a must have for serious music lovers ..."

Perhaps the only thing lacking here are some subtleties of interpretation, and for a truly "classic" interpretation one might need to listen to Kubelik's version. But the intensity and fire of Solti's version more than, repeat, more than, makes up for that lack of subtlety in places. I listened to Kubelik long before I listened to Solti's version, of course, and it's RARE INDEED for me to change a preference from the "first" recording to a later one.

Solti works pure, raw magic with this recording. Writing a review for this CD, I only feel like heaping adjective upon adjective, all of them positive. Granted that Dvorak does not rank "up there" with Beethoven and Schubert, but the New World is certainly his greatest work - and in those magnificent movements, the first, second, and fourth movements of the New World, Dvorak comes as close as anyone ever did to the Masters.

And Solti knows what it is that makes us love Dvorak and the New World, and he exploits the power of the CSO to its fullest.

I remember, as a teenager, listening to the climax of the first movement, - the hair would literally stand on end! - the heart would pound, the fists would clench - the raw animal AND the most sublime within me would awaken at the same time! - this, this is music at its finest, I would feel.

No-one but Solti made the New World sound so good. I do not say that this is the finest recording of the New World ever done, or that it is the most authoritative interpretation; I say that this is the most rousing, most powerful, most splendid New World ever done.

It may seem perverted to single out "moments in music" that have had the most lasting impression on the ear, heart and soul; but if I were to do that - if I were to single out some of those finest moments, the climax of the first Allegro of the New World, by Solti and the CSO, would rank right up there with some of Mozart's, Schubert's and Beethoven's finest. I seldom listen to this CD, for fear that I will explode.

Rating:
Summary: An Intense Interpretation of Dvorak's "New World" Symphony
Review: While Solti's Chicago Symphony Orchestra account lacks the warm lyricism of Masur and the New York Philharmonic or the refreshingly fresh, vivid look from Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, it still remains as one of the better releases of Dvorak's 9th Symphony currently available. Solti's conducting is intensely dramatic, and here he seems to emphasize the raw emotional power of Dvorak's score. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra gives a fine performance, though one marred by the occasional shrillness of both the woodwind and horn sections. The sound quality is surprisingly first rate for an early digital recording. Those interested in another strong interpretation of this symphony may be pleased with this recording.