Album
Jiří Vodička, David Mareček
Dvořák: Complete Works for Violin and Piano
Digital services
Catalogue Number: SU 4340-2
Published: 23rd August 2024
Genre: Chamber Music
Format: 2 CD
This album has received following awards:
- Gramophone Editor´s Choice (2024)
- Choc de Classica, Classica magazine (2024)
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) – Sonata in F major, Op. 57. Romantic Pieces, Op. 75. Sonatina in G major, Op. 100. Capriccio, B 81. Romance in F minor, Op. 11. Ballade in D minor, Op. 15/1. Nocturne in B major, Op. 40. Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor, Op. 46/2. Humoresque No. 7 in G flat major, Op. 101/7 (arr. Fritz Kreisler). Mazurek in E minor, Op. 49.
Jiří Vodička – violin, David Mareček – piano
Won’t nearly an hour and three quarters of music for violin and piano by the same composer be too monotonous? No it won’t because it is Dvořák… Dvořák never repeated himself; in every work, he created a different musical world. It would be hard to find another composer capable of such diversity within a single musical genre. After the earliest of the pieces, the Romance, he sent his publisher Simrock the Mazurek, which he dedicated to the Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. The almost meditative Nocturne first appeared in a string quartet and then a quintet before being heard for the first time as an independent piece in arrangements including one for violin and piano. The Violin Sonata in F major, a chamber music pendant to Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, clearly took inspiration from Brahms’s First Violin Sonata. And there is more: the virtuosic Capriccio, the haunting Romantic Pieces, the Slavonic Dance No. 2 presented here uniquely in the composer’s own arrangement, the delightful Humoresque arranged by Fritz Kreisler… and a work bearing the opus number 100, which Dvořák deliberately reserved for his Sonatina dedicated to two of his children; though simple, it is no less individual than any of the composer’s other mature opuses. To sum it all up, this is a unique collection of Dvořák’s complete works for violin and piano recorded by the virtuoso Jiří Vodička, concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, sensitively accompanied by David Mareček at the piano. The recording is enhanced by the beautiful acoustics of the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall in Prague.
Dvořák for violin and piano. A new world of music in every composition.
Jiří Vodička – violin, David Mareček – piano
Won’t nearly an hour and three quarters of music for violin and piano by the same composer be too monotonous? No it won’t because it is Dvořák… Dvořák never repeated himself; in every work, he created a different musical world. It would be hard to find another composer capable of such diversity within a single musical genre. After the earliest of the pieces, the Romance, he sent his publisher Simrock the Mazurek, which he dedicated to the Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. The almost meditative Nocturne first appeared in a string quartet and then a quintet before being heard for the first time as an independent piece in arrangements including one for violin and piano. The Violin Sonata in F major, a chamber music pendant to Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, clearly took inspiration from Brahms’s First Violin Sonata. And there is more: the virtuosic Capriccio, the haunting Romantic Pieces, the Slavonic Dance No. 2 presented here uniquely in the composer’s own arrangement, the delightful Humoresque arranged by Fritz Kreisler… and a work bearing the opus number 100, which Dvořák deliberately reserved for his Sonatina dedicated to two of his children; though simple, it is no less individual than any of the composer’s other mature opuses. To sum it all up, this is a unique collection of Dvořák’s complete works for violin and piano recorded by the virtuoso Jiří Vodička, concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, sensitively accompanied by David Mareček at the piano. The recording is enhanced by the beautiful acoustics of the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall in Prague.
Dvořák for violin and piano. A new world of music in every composition.
Reviews
“Vodička et Mareček semblent réellement amoureux de la musique de leur compatriote. Il est tentant d'affirmer, face au violon solo de la Philharmonie et au piano tenu par le directeur général de celle-ci, que de tels artistes jouent mieux ce répertoire que des interprètes éloignés de sa culture. On en prend le risque tant l'élégance assortie d'une impalpable nonchalance, le charme nostalgique et la respiration spontanée des deux partenaires projettent l'image de l'âme slave sur notre esprit. Et quel élan, quelle gourmandise sonore dans l'imagination du violon et son dialogue osmotique avec un clavier aux aguets !”
Classica, November 2024
“Konzertmeister du Philharmonique tchèque, Jiri Vodicka possède le sens du rebond rythmique, la sonorité généreuse et charnue typique des cordes tchèques, leur large vibrato, qualités idoines pour magnifier même les pages les plus mineures de cet ensemble disparate. La superbe acoustique du Rudolfinum de Prague et l'accompagnement attentif de David Marecek, sur un clair Steinway D, sont d'autres atouts.”
Diapason, November 2024
“…their album’s greatest worth isn’t its comprehensiveness but the playing itself… Its Poco sostenuto is particularly superbly interpreted, its outer sections played with a softly Romantic, Brahms-aware glide and tonal depth – with the faintest Czech ring to the piano colours in particular – after which the Czech accent fully flowers out over the central sequential conversation’s phrasing and ornamentations… I can’t see anyone bettering this any time soon.”
Gramophone, November 2024
“Czech duo brings musicality and dash to Dvořák’s violin music… Vodička’s reading is thoroughly idiomatic, brought to life with strong, silvery tone, a gorgeous upper register and pinpoint intonation. It’s very much a partnership, too, with Mareček’s adroit pianism sensitively supporting the showier violin line. Recorded in the welcoming acoustic of Prague’s Rudolfinum, it’s presented in natural and detailed sound… thanks to Vodička and Mareček nothing here outstays its welcome making for over an hour-and-a-half of listening pleasure.”
Limelight, January 2025
CD 1 |
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Antonín Dvořák
Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major, Op. 57, B 106
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| 1. | I. Allegro, ma non troppo | 10:50 | |
| 2. | II. Poco sostenuto | 06:07 | |
| 3. | III. Allegro molto | 05:21 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
Romantic Pieces, Op. 75, B 150
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| 4. | I. Allegro moderato. Cavatina | 03:00 | |
| 5. | II. Allegro maestoso. Capriccio | 02:26 | |
| 6. | III. Allegro appassionato. Romanza | 02:15 | |
| 7. | IV. Larghetto. Elegia | 06:24 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
Sonatina in G major, Op. 100, B 120
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| 8. | I. Allegro risoluto | 05:34 | |
| 9. | II. Larghetto | 04:15 | |
| 10. | III. Scherzo. Molto vivace | 02:48 | |
| 11. | IV. Finale. Allegro | 06:30 | |
CD 2 |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 1. | Capriccio in C major, B 81 | 09:30 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 2. | Romance in F minor, Op. 11, B 38 | 11:50 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 3. | Ballad in D minor, Op. 15/1, B 139 | 06:01 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 4. | Nocturne in B major, Op. 40, B 48a | 05:38 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 5. | Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor, Op. 46, B 170 | 04:42 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 6. | Humoresque No. 7 in G flat major, Op. 101/7, B 187 | 03:01 | |
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Antonín Dvořák
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| 7. | Mazurek in E minor, Op. 49, B 89 | 06:03 | |