Staatskapelle Berlin - Dvořák: Sinfonie No. 1 (2021) Hi-Res

The first movement of Antonín Dvorák's First Symphony in C minor, Op. 3, is gripping and sometimes very expansive. Amazingly, this is not a careful or respectful approach to a genre that Beethoven dominated like no other at the time, which ultimately also influenced the young solo violist. In particular, the exact key arrangement (C minor, A flat major, C minor, C major) refers to Beethoven's Fifth. Dvorák was just 23 years old and had recently been employed in the newly established interim theater in Prague. The hallmark of this first symphony, entitled The Bells of Zlonice, is the driving zeal of a personal Sturm und Drang time with overflowing ideas. In terms of composition, however, this is solid craftsmanship that testifies to orchestral knowledge. Dvorák found the work good enough for a composition competition in Leipzig. Perhaps it was precisely this carefree and form-breaking licentiousness that was the reason why the score was not sent back. Dvorák believed it was lost, and the symphony waited until 1936 for its premiere. With the exception of the Second in B flat major, also composed in 1865, it is the penultimate recording of all nine symphonies by the Czech master with Marcus Bosch and the Nuremberg State Philharmonic, recorded in November 2016 in the Nuremberg Meistersinger Hall Unspent.

Staatskapelle Berlin
Otmar Suitner, conductor

Digitally remastered