{"id":35607,"date":"2016-03-28T10:10:28","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T14:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=35607"},"modified":"2016-03-28T10:10:28","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T14:10:28","slug":"record-keeping-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/03\/28\/record-keeping-6\/","title":{"rendered":"RECORD KEEPING | Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: Stabat mater, Op. 58 – Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beautiful and profound music-making that well deserves repeated hearings.<\/h3>\n
\"Dvor\u00e1k:
Dvor\u00e1k: Stabat Mater
Christian Elsner (Artist), Liang Li (Artist), Mihoko Fujimura (Artist), Erin Wall (Artist)\/Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Mariss Jansons
View More by This Artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dvo<\/strong>\u0159\u00e1k: Stabat Mater. Erin Wall, soprano. Mihoko Fujimura, mezzo-soprano. Christian Elsner, tenor. Liang Li, bass. Bavarian Radio Chorus and Orchestra\/Mariss Jansons. BR Klassik 900142. Total Time: 77.55.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a teenager, I was familiar with the New World Symphony<\/em>, the Cello Concerto and a few other pieces by Czech composer Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k (1841-1904), but I didn\u2019t really appreciate his craftsmanship or the breadth of his output, which includes operas, choral works and string quartets, until I took classes at the University of Toronto with the late (d. 2007) great Bohemian-born Canadian composer and professor of composition, Oskar Morawetz.<\/p>\n

I heard Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Stabat Mater<\/em> for the first time in a performance at Massey Hall under the direction of Karel Ancerl, music director of the Toronto Symphony from 1968 to 1973. I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed. The orchestra never got a chance to show off as it does in the composer\u2019s Slavonic Dances<\/em>, his Carnaval Overture<\/em> or even the symphonies. The piece seemed to me almost boring in its pervasive use of mass choral sound.<\/p>\n

Later, I came to realize that I had missed the point of this great work and failed to recognize a Dvo\u0159\u00e1k every bit as compelling as the one who wrote the New World Symphony<\/em>. I needed to remember first that Dvo\u0159\u00e1k wrote the Stabat Mater<\/em> in the late 1870s, shortly after he and his family had suffered an unimaginable tragedy. Within a matter of months, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k and his wife lost all three of their children: one-year-old Ru\u017eena died after accidentally drinking some phosphorous solution; three-year-old Otakar died of smallpox; and after just two days of life, their new-born daughter Josefa passed away.<\/p>\n

Dvo\u0159\u00e1k was a deeply religious man and wrote numerous works using liturgical texts. The Requiem<\/em> is arguably the greatest of them, but the Stabat Mater<\/em> is not far behind. Heartfelt, deeply moving music, it is often restrained in its expression. That said, there are climaxes in the first and last movements that are overwhelming in their impact.<\/p>\n

One of the finest recordings of the Stabat Mater<\/em> ever made \u2013 Robert Shaw\u2019s last recording \u2013 dates from 1998 (Telarc 2CD-80506). Shaw was universally admired for his singular ability to train choruses and to create the most refined sonority from massed voices. The set also includes an interview with Shaw on the subject of the Stabat Mater. <\/em><\/p>\n

Another excellent version features the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Neeme J\u00e4rvi. (LPO-0062).<\/p>\n

This new version by Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons, recorded just last year in Munich in a live performance, may be the equal of any of them. The Bavarian Radio Chorus is one of Europe\u2019s great choirs and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra may be the equal of the Berlin Philharmonic in the depth of its string sound and the quality of its solo winds. The soprano soloist, Canadian Erin Wall, is in glorious voice.<\/p>\n

At the age of 73, Jansons is one of the world\u2019s leading conductors. Renowned for the clarity and precision of his performances, in this Stabat Mater<\/em> he encompasses a vast range of emotion. This is beautiful and profound music-making that well deserves repeated hearings.<\/p>\n