Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World' Marin Alsop & Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

• Symphonic Variations, Op. 78
• 1 Symphonic Variations, Op. 78 22:48
• Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From the New World
• 2 I. Adagio - Allegro molto 11:53
• 3 II. Largo 12:00
• 4 III. Scherzo: Molto vivace 07:06
• 5 IV. Allegro con fuoco 10:57
• Total Runtime 01:04:44

Info for Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World'

This recording by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Marin Alsop is the first of three discs of Dvořák symphonies taken from live performances at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The most popular of all Dvořák’s works, Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’ makes an immediate appeal by virtue of a seemingly inexhaustible flow of melody and sparkling orchestration. Based on a melody he had composed earlier for men’s chorus, I am a fiddler, the Symphonic Variations are one of the composer’s most beautifully crafted and beguiling works.

“Dvorák's New World has already been recorded by almost everyone who matters! But Marin Alsop makes it very much her own, with her fine Baltimore orchestra responding with an account full of warmth, moments of high drama, and, above all, finely paced with a flowing, spontaneous feeling. One notes the delightful flute-playing, the bold, strong trombones in tuttis, and the luminous grace of the strings, immediately apparent at the affectionate opening of both first and second movements. The delicate close of the Largo, after the songful repeat of the beautifully simple and very lovely cor anglais melody, is memorable. The movement's central episodes are equally poetic, particularly the gentle clarinet theme over the murmuring bass pizzicati.

The Scherzo bursts in, and the finale has all the impetus one could want. Yet overall, Alsop's is not a histrionic reading but one full of affectionate touches, the appealing little nudge at the end of the second subject of the first movement for instance, while the closing retrospective section of the finale is particularly satisfying.

What makes this disc doubly recommendable is the superb account of the Symphonic Variations, inspired but surprisingly neglected. It is a work which after the mysterious opening Lento emolto tranquillo, which is perfectly captured here, needs to move on flexibly but with plenty of impetus, capturing the continual changes of mood and colour. The extraordinary variety of invention and scoring captivates the ear, sometimes perky, sometimes gentle (like the enchanting little repeated-note flute solo, followed immediately by gruff trombones), until it reaches its genial fugal apotheosis and the performance sweeps to its folksy, grandiloquent close. The recording is outstanding in every way, well balanced and vivid in detail.” (The GRAMOPHONE Classical Music Guide)

Marin Alsop, Conductor
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Recorded live at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, USA, from 8th to 10th June 2007 (Symphony No. 9) and on 14th, 15th and 17th June 2007 (Symphonic Variations)

Awards
BBC Music Magazine: Disc of the month - July 2008
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2009: Orchestral Finalist

Marin Alsop - Conductor
Hailed as one of the world’s leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the twelfth music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008, and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California. Her most recent appointment as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), starting in 2012, marks another historic appointment for her. In 2005, Marin Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2007 she was honoured with a European Women of Achievement Award, in 2008 she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2009 Musical America named her Conductor of the Year. In November 2010 she was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame. Marin Alsop is a frequent guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Concertbegouw Orchestra, the Orchestra of La Scala, the Tonhalle Orchestra and many others. In addition to her performance activities, she is an active recording artist with award-winning cycles of Brahms, Barber and Dvořák.

Marin Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
is internationally recognized as having achieved a preeminent place among the world’s most important orchestras. Acclaimed for its pursuit of artistic excellence, the BSO has attracted a devoted national and international following while maintaining deep bonds throughout Maryland with innovative education and community outreach initiatives. The BSO made musical history in September 2007, when Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra. The BSO has achieved critical acclaim for its recording albums. In August 2009 the orchestra and Marin Alsop released Bernstein’s Mass, which rose to number six on the Classical Billboard Charts and received a 2009 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Classical Album. For more than eighty years, the BSO has maintained a vibrant educational presence throughout Maryland. The 2012-2013 season marks the fifth year of OrchKids, a year-round program that provides music education to Baltimore’s neediest youngsters at no cost. In addition to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where the orchestra has performed for 29 years, the BSO is a founding partner and the resident orchestra at the Music Center at Strathmore, just outside of Washington, D.C. With its opening in February 2005, the BSO became the nation’s only major orchestra with year-round venues in two metropolitan areas.

This album contains no booklet.