BaL 15.03.25 - Dvořák: Symphony 8

[smittims]

I remember hearing the Davis when it came out.The slow movement is especially profound.

My own favourites are Beecham, Talich (1938HMV) ad Karajan (Vienna/Decca).

[CallMePaul]

Budapest FO/Fischer for me.

Me too!

[Barbirollians]

Agree about Colin Davis worth a mention - as are RLPO/ Pesek, the late Columbia SO/Walter and both 1935 and 1951 Talich recordings.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Looking forward to this not least because ,incredibly , I don’t think I have a recording of it. Though there might be a BBC MM CD somewhere.

[Pulcinella]

Looking forward to this not least because ,incredibly , I don’t think I have a recording of it. Though there might be a BBC MM CD somewhere.

The BBC MM release (Volume 10, Number 11) is with the BBC PO under Gianandrea Noseda, recorded in (at?) New Broadcasting House, Manchester, in December 2001.
Or did you mean lurking somewhere in das Heldenlebeshaus? (Chez Heldenleben looked a bit odd!)

[Ein Heldenleben]

The BBC MM release (Volume 10, Number 11) is with the BBC PO under Gianandrea Noseda, recorded in (at?) New Broadcasting House, Manchester, in December 2001.
Or did you mean lurking somewhere in das Heldenlebeshaus? (Chez Heldenleben looked a bit odd!)

Oh it’s lurking alright. Just sifted through 8 stacks of them and I KNOW it’s there.
Good recording that . I have however found Dvorak 7 BBC Phil / Sinaisky in compensation.,

[Pulcinella]

Oh it’s lurking alright. Just sifted through 8 stacks of them and I KNOW it’s there.
Good recording that . I have however found Dvorak 7 BBC Phil / Sinaisky in compensation.,

Maybe worth giving a reminder of this listing (which can be sorted into Composer order); mine are shelved in Volume, Number order and I use it to easily find the appropriate CD.

https://www.knowledgewise.co.uk/music/

[Ein Heldenleben]

Maybe worth giving a reminder of this listing (which can be sorted into Composer order); mine are shelved in Volume, Number order and I use it to easily find the appropriate CD.

https://www.knowledgewise.co.uk/music/

Thing is Pulchie I’m suffering from a bad case of Qobuzitis. It leads to systematic neglect of CD collection and also ,weirdly, a reluctance to use Qobuz itself - because the choice is as overwhelming as those French Hypermarkets where you spend 45 mins trying to choose a packet of ham and some cheese from the 1,000 lines on offer.

And this folks is progress…

perhaps Makropolous can save me a lot of time ?,

Update - found Noseda plus Dvorak 6 , Cello Concerto and some Chamber works all MM’s that were, amazingly filed alphabetically with other CD ‘s rather than in my unique CD player top-mounted multi -heap piling system (with second overflow conveniently hidden behind a row of hardbacks ).

[Pulcinella]

Thing is Pulchie I’m suffering from a bad case of Qobuzitis. It leads to systematic neglect of CD collection and also ,weirdly, a reluctance to use Qobuz itself - because the choice is as overwhelming as those French Hypermarkets where you spend 45 mins trying to choose a packet of ham and some cheese from the 1,000 lines on offer.

And this folks is progress…

perhaps Makropolous can save me a lot of time ?,

He never gives the game away, but it's not long to wait!

[richardfinegold]

Tough job! There are so many good ones out there but my favourites are VPO/Karajan (Decca) and Cleveland Orchestra/Szell.

Don’t know the Karajan but the Szell was my first and continues to be my favorite. The Davis gets a lot of love here but I used to own it and found it dull. I happened to rehear it on the radio and had the same opinion. It’s to bad that Ancerl and the Czech PO and Kubelik with a Czech Orchestra (afaik) weren’t recorded . I haven’t heard Bychkov and the Czech PO but heard them play the NWS on tour so I will explore their 8th
I heard this in Chicago in the early lights with Pinchas Zuckerman leading after he soloed in the VC. The trumpet badly split a note in the fanfare that starts IV. It turned out that Bud Herseth had taken ill prior to the concert and the replacement “cracked “ under pressure .

[schneiderhan]

That was a fantastic bal, thank you Nigel S. I thought he managed to escape from the strait jacket of having a limited number of recordings and we didn't just hear all the same 5 or however many throughout the whole broadcast. Rather we got to hear well chosen extracts of many more. I love that Szell Lucerne recording, have played it lots of times.

[Wolfram]

That was a fantastic bal, thank you Nigel S. I thought he managed to escape from the strait jacket of having a limited number of recordings and we didn't just hear all the same 5 or however many throughout the whole broadcast. Rather we got to hear well chosen extracts of many more. I love that Szell Lucerne recording, have played it lots of times.

Completely agree that this was a terrific BaL, and so pleased that the Munch/Boston recording got a mention. I found this recording in a box a couple of weeks ago in its original cd release coupled with the Brahms 4 - I bought it years ago for Munch’s Brahms 4 which I love, but had never played the Dvorak until last week. But it is a delightful performance and it won’t be going back in the box.

[HighlandDougie]

A really excellent BaL for which many thanks. My favourite 8th recommended. That excellent Supraphon 6 CD box (Dvořák/Smetana) is often taken down from the shelves.

Inspired by Nigel's judicious choice of versions on his shortlist (and others mentioned), I've also just downloaded the Szell Lucerne performance from the Audite site - and have remembered that I have Ancerl/Concertgebouw in the 'Great Conductors of the Twentieth Century'. The Hrůša/VPO would have to be justified as a bit of a treat, given the short duration of the disc (and the price) but it sounded terrific.

[silvestrione]

I thought it was an enthralling BAL. I don't mind (well, I think I like) the trio as done by Kubelik/BPO...But there were so many recommendations here to follow up.
Was the brass sound on the Kertesz a little raw? May just be my system.

[Pulcinella]

So, it's the honorary Czech Sir Charles with the Prague SO that wins the palm:

https://www.prestomusic.com/search?search_query=Dvorak%20prague%20mackerras%20symphony%208

I'll update the OP with the 'official' website details when they appear.