Up to 37% in savings when you subscribe to hi-fi+

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Dvorak: Cello Concertos

Dvorak: Cello Concertos

I’m a big fan of Dvorák’s Cello Concertos (especially the B Minor) and have liked Isserlis cello work for years. He claims it’s taken almost 40 years to take on the Dvorák.

It’s a bold, intense and speedy version of the B Minor, and this is refreshing. Isserlis is capable of moments of great pathos, but also of using the instrument as a power tool, unleashing it in the way a Romantic concerto requires. The Concerto in A (revised and orchestrated by Günther Raphael) is often something of an afterthought, but here it stands out in its own right as a melodious and neglected work. Between them stands the short, poignant ‘Lasst Mich Allein’ (arranged for orchestra by Leopold), which has its echoes in the second movement of the B Minor concerto.

Musically, the balance between cello and chamber orchestra works well, and the vitality of the playing almost always comes across. However, it seems Hyperion raced through this (the notes suggest a two-day session) and the tone of the B Minor in particular is muddied and the orchestra seems muted and distant. The Concerto in A fares much better and is as breezy as the music. 

Read Next From Music

See all
Music Interview: The House of Love
MUSIC

Music Interview: The House of Love

If you were around in the Indie scene of the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s, you couldn't have missed The House of Love. We spoke to legendary front-man, Guy Chadwick.

Music Interview: Bringing Jack McDuff back to life
MUSIC

Music Interview: Bringing Jack McDuff back to life

Influential US organist Jack McDuff's 'Live at Parnell's' was a lost classic, until Claudio Passavanti of Doctor Mix and Christoph Härtwig of iZotope could bring the cassette masters back to life. They talk to Sean Hannam.

Max Cooper
MUSIC

Music Interview: Max Cooper

Sean Hannam speaks to the Belfast-born visionary artist and producer Max Cooper, who teamed up with the French spatial audio experts L-Acoustics to help create his latest album, Unspoken Words.

Music Interview: Michael Head
MUSIC

Music Interview: Michael Head

Michael Head (Pale Fountains, The Strands) is perhaps Liverpool’s great lost songwriter, but Sean Hannam found him and talked about The Red Elastic Band and their latest album, Dear Scott...

Sign Up To Our Newsletter