Karel Ančerl Live Recordings

Live recordings of Karel Ančerl from the Czech Radio archive

W. A. Mozart - Adagio in E major for Violin and Orchestra, K 261, Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K 219, Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K 299, L. van Beethoven - Coriolan, Op. 62, Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra in C major, Op. 56, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36, Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93. F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 'Italian'. M. P. Mussorgsky - Songs and Dances of Death. B. Smetana - Má vlast. A. Dvořák - Scherzo capriccioso, Op. 66, Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, Biblical Songs, Op. 99. J. B. Foerster - Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 54 'Easter Eve'. V. Novák - Autumn Symphony, Op. 62, Pan, Op. 43. J. Suk - Asrael, Op. 27, Ripening, Op. 34. C. Debussy - La mer, Nocturnes. M. Ravel - Shéhérazade, Rapsodie espagnole. R. Strauss - Don Juan, Op. 20. E. Elgar - Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op. 47. R. Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. W. Piston - Toccata for Orchestra. I. Stravinsky - Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments. S. Prokofiev - Scythian Suite, Op. 20. P. Hindemith - Philharmonisches Konzert. W. Lutosławski - Musique fun?bre. B. Martinů - Concerto grosso, H 263, Symphony No. 1, H 289. E. Schulhoff - The Communist Manifesto - Oratorio. M. Kabeláč - Symphony No. 5 in B flat minor "Drammatica", Op. 41. I. Krejčí - Symphony No. 1 in D, Symphony No. 3 in D. J. Ježek - Phantasy for Piano and Orchestra. J. Novák - Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. J. Pauer - Rhapsody for Orchestra. J. Feld - Concerto for Orchestra. J. Klusák - Variations on a Theme by Gustav Mahler

Josef Suk violin, Josef Chuchro cello, Jan Panenka piano, Alexandr Plocek violin, Géza Novák flute, Karel Patras harp, Ladislav Mráz bass, Suzanne Danco soprano, Smetana Quartet, Jan Novák & Eliška Nováková piano, Václav Holzknecht piano, Zdeněk Jílek piano, Libuše Domanínská soprano et al.
Prague Philharmonic Choir, choirmaster Josef Veselka
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (Ježek)

Conductor Karel Ančerl

Karel Ančerl. One of the most important conductors of post-war Europe. A man who survived the Nazi concentration camps and the avowed anti-Semitism of communist Czechoslovakia. An artist who, through enormous patience and dedication, built the Czech Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra and introduced it successfully at the most important concert halls. From 2002 to 2008, Supraphon issued the highly acclaimed Ančerl Gold Edition with the bulk of his artistic legacy, containing nearly his complete studio recordings with the Czech Philharmonic on 48 CDs. But that was far from everything. Hidden in the archive of Czech Radio, there is a wealth of concert recordings that gives us a more complete picture of this conductor. From that treasury, on 15 CDs, Supraphon has selected repertoire of which studio recordings were not made; that repertoire covers a broad range from Mozart to works by Ančerl's contemporaries. The recordings include masterpieces by Dvořák (Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8, Biblical Songs) and Suk (Asrael, Ripening), music by composers admired and promoted by Ančerl (Martinů Symphony No. 1 and Kabeláč Symphony No. 5), and major works of the worldwide 20th-century repertoire (Debussy, Ravel, Strauss, Prokofiev etc.). The only exception of a "duplication" of a studio recording is Smetana's Má vlast. This taping of a Prague Spring Festival concert in May 1968 was one of the last recordings Ančerl made before his definitive departure for Toronto. The concert recordings from the years 1949-1968 document the maturing of this remarkable artist perhaps even more clearly than his studio legacy.

Previously unpublished recordings by one of the great conductors of the 20th century