ANOTHER WORLD!

You may remember my blog "Bad Blood"when I talked about the 100th Anniversary Concert of the Czech Philharmonic performing the Dvorak "New World Symphony".  I have just received a new Exton recording of the same piece with the same Orchestra, conducted by Vaclav Neumann, exactly 1 year earlier.  There are many differences between the two versions besides the conducting and playing. The acoustics of the Hall of Artists in Prague seems finer and more vibrant when empty as in this recording. The playing is of ANOTHER WORLD and here they are playing for a legendary Czech conductor who they obviously loved. The interpretation is more autumnal than Albrecht's, at least in the 1st movement, but the Largo is one of the finest I have heard and the 3rd and 4th movements are equally gripping. It's a shame Exton CDs (Canyon Classics) are not more available and inexpensive in the U.S. because they are well worth investigating.