# SS 06.04.19 - Dvorak #1 "The Bells Of Zionice"



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening! 
_*
*For your listening pleasure this weekend:*

Antonin Dvorak **(1841 - 1904)*

Symphony No. 1 in C minor "The Bells Of Zionice", B. 9
1. Maestoso - Allegro 
2. Adagio molto
3. Allegretto
4. Finale: Allegro animato

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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!_


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Another weekend is upon us and this weekend it's Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's final appearance on on the Saturday Symphony with his First Symphony. I like this one even though it doesn't get much play so I'm happy to hear it again. I hope everyone else can join in. Lots of recordings out there so I don't feel the need to post a YouTube link.

I'll be listening to:







Vaclav Neumann/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

I don't listen to this one much either, so thanks RDB for getting me to dust this one off. Belohlavek will be spinning here.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Neumann here.










BTW to warm up for the symphony, I'm now listening to the _Symphonic Variations_. What a tremendous work!


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I don't have this one on disc so I'll have a look and see what spotify has to offer.


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

I really like this symphony. Of the early Dvorak symphonies (1-5) I enjoy this one the most. Jarvi and Scottish for me.


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

I’ll be listening to Vaclav Neumann & the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra myself, though at this point it will be my Sunday Symphony.


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

I real treasure of a work. Rowicki and the Londoners do a fantastic interpretation.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

This one for me.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

D Smith said:


> I don't listen to this one much either, so thanks RDB for getting me to dust this one off. Belohlavek will be spinning here.


I spin this also


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

For me this is far and away Dvorak's worst symphony and I rarely listen to it. Will turn to Serebrier for this one, today.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I also rarely hear it but am listening to it now. I was going to go to Kertesz but this was still out after listening to some of the other symphonies from it this week.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

cougarjuno said:


> I really like this symphony. Of the early Dvorak symphonies (1-5) I enjoy this one the most. Jarvi and Scottish for me.


Same version for me too


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Rogerx said:


> This one for me.


Same here for me......


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Dvorak Symphony No 1 - LSO, Rowicki. (via spotify)

Sorry, for this listener this is not a patch on the mature Dvorak Symphonies I enjoy 5, 6, 7, & 8.
As others have stated I believe it is too long with the inspiration it does have spun out too thinly, shame as I really did want this to be a find for me.

View attachment 115715


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## Bourdon (Jan 4, 2019)

Deleted............


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Rogerx said:


> This one for me.


I once read that Kertesz intensely disliked the symphony and only recorded it because he was committed to record the entire set. This makes his success all the more impressive.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Dvořák's first symphony was written more than a decade before Brahms' first, also in C minor - though admittedly Brahms was a bit slow getting off the ground. Perhaps Dvořák should have taken more time as well. My notes from a couple of listenings to Neumann's performance:

1 _Maestoso_. An arresting opening leads to little of interest, a kind of half-baked Bruckner. The movement continually promises and then fails to deliver. Too many themes, usually undistinguished, obscure the music's structure. For me, there is little memorable here.

2 _Adagio di molto_. Less noisy and much more smoothly flowing, very much a mixture of moods. Hard to say though what those moods are! Again lots of themes, lots happening, but the story line is unclear at best. However I hear a seeming quote from Poulenc's _Concert champêtre_ at 10:29!

3 _Allegretto_. I expected a scherzo or some such here. Indeed, the music is quite brisk and rhythmic but it's not in triple time and seems not very scherzo-like. However it's in ABA form with a contrasting central section. It wraps up in fine style, more like a finale than a dance movement. Dvořák may have noticed this because he fades out at the very end, letting us know there's more to come. The clarity of structure, good themes, and economy of writing make this probably the best music in the symphony.

4 _Allegro animato_. Back to the mood of the first movement, though a bit brighter and lighter. There are fewer themes to deal with and the structure seems a bit clearer; the improvements, though incremental, are welcome. Much of the detail as the movement goes along is interesting, far more so than in the first movement. The symphony ends with much noise and a Beethoven-like speedup in the coda.

I enjoyed the last two movements of this symphony, the first two less so.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

geralmar said:


> I once read that Kertesz intensely disliked the symphony and only recorded it because he was committed to record the entire set. This makes his success all the more impressive.


I heard the same, but about Kubelík, not Kertész! Kubelík only grudgingly recorded Nos 1 And 2, not considering them part of the proper Dvorak canon. And you can tell!! His Berlin readings sound like run-throughs, little more.

I've listened to Neumann, who does make a good case for this work, and also Gunzenhauser, who's surprisingly good!

It's not a great work, I'm happy to accept that fact, but I'd say it's better than No.2!!!


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Dvorak lost the score shortly after composition and never had the chance to revise it or hear it in performance. This likely explains the symphony's occasional longueurs. The score was found (in a bookseller's stall) only after his death. Kertesz's was the first complete, uncut recording. Some reviewers claim not to hear the "bells"; I hear them at the very beginning.


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