The great B minor Cello Concerto of
Antonín Dvorák remains, more than 115 years after its composition, one of the cornerstones of the cello repertoire and by far the most successful of all
Dvorák's concertos. Much less known is the Cello Concerto in A major --
Dvorák's first -- that was written some 30 years prior to the B minor. The A major was composed as a gift, one
Dvorák did not have opportunity to rework as he aged or to orchestrate himself. Lost and forgotten until the 1920s, the First Concerto has been subjected to many different orchestrations, cuts, and versions. Though it is interesting as a historical link in the chain of
Dvorák's tremendous growth as a composer, it certainly does not live up to the stature of its big brother. Cellist
Tomás Jamník, joined by the
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under
Tomás Netopil, present these two concertos (including their own version of the A major concerto, which substantially cuts the work's original 55-minute length down to about 35 minutes) along with two orchestrated short works for cello: Silent Woods and the Rondo in G minor. From
Jamník's first entrance in the B minor concerto, listeners will be both enthralled and disappointed. Enthralled because the young artist plays with an immense degree of suppleness and fluidity, elegant shifts, beautiful intonation, and organic rubato. Even the less gripping A major concerto is elevated to a higher level in
Jamník's hands. The disappointment comes from his rather modest, insufficient sound production for which
Supraphon inadequately compensates. After the grand, robust orchestral introduction,
Jamník's sound is small and obscured. A shame, really, since his playing is so obviously worth hearing.