Dvořák A. Symphony No.7, Rhapsody Op.14 / Musica Florea / M.Štryncl

Antonín Dvořák - Rapsodie in A minor, Op. 14 18:53

Antonín Dvořák - Symphony No.7 in D minor Op.70 B.141 (new recording 2022)

2. Allegro maestoso 10:54

3. Poco adagio 8:58

4. Scherzo. Vivace 7:34

5. Finale. Allegro 9:50

Musica Florea (period instrument ensemble)

Marek Štryncl conductor

Stereo digital live recording.

When the Musica Florea orchestra started playing romantic symphonic music on period romantic instruments, they chose Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No.7 in 2005, which was soon afterwards released on CD. Why now again? Personally, I have come to believe that our interpretation of this work at that time was not romantic enough. It clung to the legacy and influence of conductor Václav Talich who at the end of his life said that he would perform Antonín Dvořák's works without all this "romantic overlay". And we know that as soon as he started conducting he began to remove these "overlays" gradually. We are talking about the so-called portata in the form of glissandos, tempo changes (flexible tempo) and varied work with rhythm or "consonance" (tempo rubato), which strengthened the musical emotion or expression. Although we hear much of this (at least in hints) in Václav Talich's recordings from the 1930s, it is clear that the development at that time was moving away from the true essence of Romantic interpretation. We know from contemporary criticism that Dvořák, as a conductor, changed tempi without having it written down in the score. And from the end of the 18th century onwards we have dozens of instructions on how to work with changes in tempo. All this was forgotten during the 20th century (with a few isolated exceptions). It even got to the point that the tempo changes explicitly prescribed by Dvořák were deliberately ignored by famous conductors. I am convinced that our "Great Return" will come as a shock to the "Dvořák experts" as it upsets the entrenched schemes of how his work should be interpreted. We can certainly debate whether the radical changes in tempo or tempo rubato on this recording are not over the edge. However, the more one becomes familiar with contemporary recommendations or recordings from the late 19th century, the sooner one finds that it is not over the top. For this is just part of the nature of Romantic interpretation.. Marek Štryncl, 2022