For listeners who want just a few of the better-known Czech orchestral warhorses from the latter part of the nineteenth century performed with power and panache, here is a two-disc set from Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, in wonderfully remastered sound by Deutsche Grammophon. But while one cannot but praise the effortless smoothness of Karajan's conducting and the ravishing sumptuousness of the Berlin Philharmonic, one cannot in good conscience recommend this disc to anyone who truly loves Czech music of the latter part of the nineteenth century -- because, for all the polish and precision of most of these performances, they have next to nothing to do with Czech music. In these recordings, Dvorák's Slavonic Dances are exciting but faceless, and his Ninth is neither from the New World or the Old World, but from the cool depths of sonic space. The two excerpts from Smetana's Má Vlast are brilliantly played wholly nondescript, and his three dances from The Bartered Bride are more irritating than exciting. And amazingly enough, the Vienna Philharmonic's performance of Dvorák's Eighth is so relaxed as to be sloppy, or as sloppy as the VPO is ever likely to get. A great set for anyone who has nothing by Dvorák and Smetana, but completely unnecessary for those who already know their music.
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