# Antonín Dvořák - Symphony 9



## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

Do you like this symphony of Antonín Dvořák? What are, according to you, the best recordings of it?


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I went through quite a long period of finding it boring compared to other Dvorak symphonies. But I don't know how I felt that. I love it greatly now and believe it to be one the the truly great symphonies. There are many great recordings but without thinking too deeply I can remember that Harnoncourt and Kertesz are both excellent and I think there is a very good one by Karajan (I _think_ it's the earlier one) as well. There are many others especially if you are willing to accept less than modern sound. It's a work that flowers best when handled with a little delicacy.


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## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

I've been listening for years to this Dvořák's Symphony. But something this true and exquisitely beautiful is hard to come by at any time The conductor seemed to had full control of each of anyone of the instrumentalists and even that you can feel the Bohemian spirit. I realized his deep respect to the material he is working with.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

One of the best by any composer.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

It might have been the first complete symphony I ever heard, and together with the Tchaikovsky b minor concerto and a few other pieces I will always remember this as signature piece of the time when I got into classical at 14-15 yo. But I rarely listen to it nowadays and actually think that Dvorak's 7th and 8th are more interesting pieces.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Great, great, great. What a magnificent creation. Lyrical, dramatic, exciting...it's got it all. The orchestration is a marvel; just ignore George Szell and a couple of others who rescored the string writing: Dvorak knew what he was doing. 

I love playing this work and fortunately it comes up every couple of years. It's a thrill to conduct and quite a challenge, especially the close of the 2nd movement.

There are so many excellent recordings that it's hard to know where to stop: certainly Kondrashin, Ormandy, Bernstein, Reiner, Harnoncourt...but the best of all is from a totally unexpected source: Arthur Fiedler. Too often taken for granted as only a pops conductor, Fiedler was a fine musician and his recording on RCA is marvelous. Someday Sony will put together a huge Complete Fiedler Edition box and that recording must be in it!

One to hear just for the cringe factor: Yevgeny Svetlanov. The final chord is just awful and shows clearly that once again Dvorak was the genius and knew what he was doing. That slow fade out diminuendo is perfect. But not for Svetlanov who keeps the volume up - waaaaaay up - for a more thrilling ending, but of course the result is exact opposite. Also to be avoided: Stokowski on RCA with the LSO from the '70s. The strings get lost in the 2nd movement and it's a mess. Add to it his usual tampering with the scoring and you have a disgraceful recording that should never have been made.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Haven’t heard many others except Kubelik, seems very fine


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Great piece fine symphony..
Toscanini/NBC, Reiner/CSO top my list...marvelous


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## Denerah Bathory (6 mo ago)

Kreisler jr said:


> It might have been the first complete symphony I ever heard, and together with the Tchaikovsky b minor concerto and a few other pieces I will always remember this as signature piece of the time when I got into classical at 14-15 yo. But I rarely listen to it nowadays and actually think that Dvorak's 7th and 8th are more interesting pieces.


Same here, actually, Dvorak's 9th was my first experience at a live classical concert. I consider it the other great ninth symphony, alongside Beethoven's iconic masterpiece of course.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Excellent 
I prefer this one:

But his other recording will also do and Otmar Suitner is my second favourite.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Denerah Bathory said:


> Same here, actually, Dvorak's 9th was my first experience at a live classical concert. I consider it the other great ninth symphony, alongside Beethoven's iconic masterpiece of course.


There are other great Ninth symphonies: Schubert, Mahler, and Bruckner.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Kreisler jr said:


> It might have been the first complete symphony I ever heard, and together with the Tchaikovsky b minor concerto and a few other pieces I will always remember this as signature piece of the time when I got into classical at 14-15 yo. But I rarely listen to it nowadays and actually think that Dvorak's 7th and 8th are more interesting pieces.


My favorite Dvorak symphony overall is still the Ninth, for its slow movement and finale.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

I have Talich's 1954 recording of the symphony, along with Kubelik's.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

My Discogs database tells me I have over two dozen versions of the Dvorak "From the New World" Symphony. This includes my favorite one, recorded in 1959 when it was still the Dvorak Fifth Symphony:










This was my initiation into Dvorak and this particular symphony, whatever number it may hold -- for me it is always Number 1! -- and so I cherish the interpretation and tend to measure every version I hear against this one. After decades of such comparing, I can say that I could live with just the Szell, though this does seem to unfairly slight so many other conductors with this symphony in my collection, including Ancerl, Talich, Donald Runnicles, Fritz Reiner, and Bernstein....

For a really refreshing listen, and one that simply amazes, there is the disc by guitarist Kazuhito Yamashita, who plays his solo guitar arrangement of the entire symphony. But don't think this is somehow a streamlined version of the orchestral work. I don't know how the guitarist does it, but he plays every note and captures every nuance of the original orchestration on that single d----- guitar. I want to smash my own instrument in frustration every time I listen to this piece as played by Yamashita.



















And if you plan to listen to Yamashita's Firebird Suite afterwards, don't bother putting your jaw back in place until after the entire disc has spun. Two utterly remarkable performances.

But for the original, I go with Szell and his Cleveland band.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

EvaBaron said:


> Haven’t heard many others except Kubelik, seems very fine


For all that, you landed on a good one.


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## Denerah Bathory (6 mo ago)

ORigel said:


> There are other great Ninth symphonies: Schubert, Mahler, and Bruckner.


Of course, but personally the two aforementioned hold a prominent place for me. I have yet to explore Bruckner's symphony in greater detail. At least the ninth, being his last, doesn't have several versions to debate over


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Enthusiast said:


> For all that, you landed on a good one.


I plan on at least listening to Kertesz, bernstein, Solti, Szell and Fricsay to see if Kubelik still holds up


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

^ OK ... but don't leave out Harnoncourt (a real contender - a recording to love).


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

The first recording I ever heard of this symphony was Stokowski's with the Philadelphia Orchestra----an early RCA Camden label re-issue from many, many years ago in mono sound. However, Istvan Kertesz's stereo recording from 1961 with the Vienna Philharmonic on London/Decca remains my favorite to this day. I've long considered his interpretation dynamically powerful as well as wonderfully nostalgic, tuneful and sensitive.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

1960


1960

Both are "reference recordings" from my youth; however there are innumerable fine recordings and I do not necessarily rank these higher than others in my collection. Incidentally, Paray omits the repeat in the first movement which severely "unbalances" the work.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

I don't understand this 6-point scale, but since I gave Elgar's Enigma a 6/6, I guess Dvorak's New World would be a 5. The only work that might be 6/6 is his 7th Symphony.

My favorite part of The New World is the 2nd movement when it "breaks through the rain."


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