# Dvorak Symphonies 8 and 9



## Steve Wright

Hello,
I'd like to get into these two. Which conductor do people recommend? My 10yo Rough Guide tells me Kubelik and Davis...
Thanks!
Steve


----------



## ptr

Kubelik and Davis is a fine starting point, for me István Kertész is the ultimate in Dvorák!

/ptr


----------



## Pugg

ptr said:


> Kubelik and Davis is a fine starting point, _for me István Kertész is the ultimate in Dvorák_!
> 
> /ptr


Amen to this :tiphat:


----------



## joen_cph

There´s a lot of good recordings out there, and the works are so good, that they are not so easy to spoil totally.

In the 9th, Kertesz is great, so is Dorati/LSO, Ancerl/Czech PO on the Hermitage label, Maazel/Berlin RSO, etc. etc.

Among the historical recordings, there are Mengelberg and Malko, etc.


----------



## Steve Wright

joen_cph said:


> There´s a lot of good recordings out there, and the works are so good, that they are not so easy to spoil totally.
> 
> In the 9th, Kertesz is great, so is Dorati/LSO, Ancerl/Czech PO on the Hermitage label, Maazel/Berlin RSO, etc. etc.
> 
> Among the historical recordings, there are Mengelberg and Malko, etc.


Thanks everyone! Do any of these recordings you've mentioned - also Kubelik, Davis - have any particular characteristics, e.g. melodic, dramatic, brilliant sound?
I'm sure they are all wonderful, just wondering if there's one that will suit me best as a newcomer (and lover of melodic music, of which Dvorak seems to have plenty!)
Thank you!


----------



## Vinski

My recommendation is Neumann/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. You'll also get 7th with this release.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00008HCPD


----------



## Triplets

There are a lot of good choices, some of which o0ther posters have cited. I'll add George Szell and the Cleveland SO


----------



## hapiper

I got one not likely to be mentioned. I got a download of Dvorak Symphony No. 8 by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra directed by Manfred Honeck. It is quite good, I was very surprised to be honest, but very well done just the same.


----------



## gHeadphone

Steve Wright said:


> Hello,
> I'd like to get into these two. Which conductor do people recommend? My 10yo Rough Guide tells me Kubelik and Davis...
> Thanks!
> Steve


IS the Rough guide totally finished now? I wonder is it worth getting a 2nd hand version?


----------



## Triplets

hapiper said:


> I got one not likely to be mentioned. I got a download of Dvorak Symphony No. 8 by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra directed by Manfred Honeck. It is quite good, I was very surprised to be honest, but very well done just the same.


I have that on SACD. I had bought it for the Janacek discmate and I agree, the Dvorak is great.


----------



## Steve Wright

gHeadphone said:


> IS the Rough guide totally finished now? I wonder is it worth getting a 2nd hand version?


I see my Rough Guide is actually 14 years old - the 2001 edition.







Obviously a bit out of date in terms of the best recent recordings (though there are plenty of fine recommendations) - but I bought it for next to nothing, mainly as a general intro to composers and their key pieces. When I want to know what version to get I generally come on here...
The last edition seems to have been the 2010 edition... I don't know if they are doing it again. Perhaps not.
I wonder what other annual/biennial classical music guides are good...?


----------



## Haydn man

I would agree with much of the above, but would like to add a recommendation for Jarvi with the Scottish National Orchestra.


----------



## Vaneyes

ACO/Harnoncourt, Staats. Berlin/Suitner. :tiphat:


----------



## double

Kertesz version is definitive :tiphat:


----------



## Johnnie Burgess

ptr said:


> Kubelik and Davis is a fine starting point, for me István Kertész is the ultimate in Dvorák!
> 
> /ptr


Kubelik gives István Kertész a good challenge for who is the best in Dvorák.


----------



## Merl

Davis, Kubelik, Szell, Suitner, Mackerras, Harnoncourt, etc......loads of great ones - get one on Amazon (almost new) for less than £2. My current favourite is Fischer with the Budapest boys but it's dear.


----------



## Johnnie Burgess

Next month there will be a both symphonies by Bruno Walter comming out.


----------



## Pugg

Merl said:


> Davis, Kubelik, Szell, Suitner, Mackerras, Harnoncourt, etc......loads of great ones - get one on Amazon (almost new) for less than £2. My current favourite is Fischer with the Budapest boys but it's dear.


No István Kertész recording?


----------



## Enthusiast

My favourites among modern recordings (in no articular order):
8 - Kubelik, Kertesz, Neumann - less modern includes Suitner, Talich and Ancerl
9 - Harnoncourt, Karajan (interestingly different), Kertesz, Davis - less modern includes Fricsay, Suitner, Ancerl


----------



## Merl

Pugg said:


> No István Kertész recording?


Forgot all about it Pugg! I also forgot Walter too. Tbh, I prefer individual performances of 8 and 9. One of my favourite 8ths is by Levine and one of my favourite 9ths is Macal on CFP. I had the LP and then CD of that and still love it. Neumann and Belohlavek do very good 8 and 9s though, in their cycles (prefer Neumann's digital 9 to analogue but prefer his analogue 8). I'd rate Fischer and Mackerras most consistent across the coupling, though.


----------



## Olias

For an amazing live recording of both the 8th and 9th I highly recommend Mackerras.


----------



## Scarr

I have a lovely recording of 9 by Macal. It's a very bright and exhilerating performance. Kubelik does a lovely job of the eighth.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

Easy for me, and by a substantial margin: #8--Kertesz/London Symphony; #9--Kertesz/Vienna Philharmonic. Both on London/Decca


----------



## Pugg

Haydn67 said:


> Easy for me, and by a substantial margin: #8--Kertesz/London Symphony; #9--Kertesz/Vienna Philharmonic. Both on London/Decca


They are bloody gorgeous.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

Kertesz seems a natural fit in these two works because he emphasizes so well the very qualities that make Dvorak endearingly special: grand climaxes, nostalgic reflections, panoramic vistas and exquisite instrumental color.


----------



## Joachim Raff

Without a doubt my favourite 8th and its even coupled with my favourite Dvorak Cello Concerto.









For a coupling of the 8th and 9th


----------



## DaddyGeorge

I love many interpretation of these works. For me, different interpretations create a mosaic from which try I build a more complete picture of the composition... I highly recommend these recordings by Bamberger Symphoniker and Jakub Hrůša:


----------



## mbhaub

Joachim Raff said:


> Without a doubt my favourite 8th and its even coupled with my favourite Dvorak Cello Concerto.
> 
> View attachment 132685


I love most of the Munch recordings for RCA - he was a "natural". Nothing forced, tempos always seem perfect, and he really knew how to make music exciting. His recording of the Dvorak 8th has a lot going for it - and a major something going against it: he was using the first edition from Simrock which was loaded with errors, in the score and the parts. Knowing the work from recordings that used the corrected second edition and having conducted it myself using newer editions, listening to the Munch is almost unbearable at times. No where is this more evident than the oboe line right before the DC in the third movement. It's a shame, and didn't have to be that way. The Boston librarian and Munch didn't do their homework.


----------

