" Kertesz is superb in this exhilarating performance of the 8th symphony. Rhythmically sparkling and full of pastoral rapture, it has rarely been equalled on record and never surpassed. Kubelik, Harnoncourt and Fischer are also very fine, but Kertesz is glorious. His performance of the 'New World' is also outstanding, although here the competition is intense, with superb performances also available from Fischer, Masur, Kubelik and others."
Had some fun comparing Dvorák 9ths lately. My favourite four are/remain the same, in ascending order: Bernstein/NYP (1962) takes the Largo too slowly (admittedly to great effect), then the Scherzo at a breakneck pace (impressively but unnecessarily so, I'm afraid), a fun reading, well-executed and -recorded. Fricsay/BPO (1959) is broad, dramatic, weighty, well-played and -recorded. Ancerl/CPO (1961) sounds the most Czech and idiomatic of all, a lithe, lean and agile reading whose sound quality comes out very well in the most recent remasterings (also available as XRCD). Kertész/VPO (1961) brings together the best qualities of them all, and still sounds great in the latest Japanese remastering (also available as Esoteric SACD hybrid, which I haven't heard yet), and remains my top favourite (but I like interpretive variety, which one will get on the highest quality level owning all four of these recordings). The Kertész/LSO (1966) sounds curiously "flat" (as others have observed here and elsewhere) in comparison, too much of a déjà vu perhaps, but it's still in the league (or close) of other good recordings, such as those by Horenstein, Kubelik, Neumann, Reiner, Szell and Talich. The raison d'être of this reviewed disc (apart from legendary engineer Kenneth E. Wilkinson's recorded sound) is the 1963 Kertész/LSO 8th here, perhaps my favourite of all (the tempi just feel right), or then along with the altogether different, broader, more detail- and beauty-oriented Kubelik/BPO (1966) - plus Szell/CO (1959), Talich/CPO (early 1950s mono), and a fun, breathtaking(ly fast) live Ancerl/RCO (Amsterdam 1970) that, similarly to the above Bernstein 9th, I would not recommend as an only version. Replacing Kertész's London Symphony Orchestra recording of the 9th with his earlier Vienna Symphony Orchestra reference version would have made this disc the Dvorák best-buy of a lifetime - as it is, the coupling still deserves a qualified recommendation.
by Swissdave (Switzerland)
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