Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104; Cello Concerto in A Major

Featuring

Daniel Harding
Steven Isserlis
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Antonín Dvořák

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Recording & Production

Steven Isserlis, the cellist on this recording, plays on the "Marquis de Corberon (Nelsova) Stradivarius of 1726," on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.

Performer Biography

Daniel Harding, the conductor, holds the lifetime title of Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and is Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Composition History

Dvořák initially disliked the cello as a solo instrument, feeling it sounded "too much like muttering," preferring it in orchestral or chamber music.

Composition History

The inspiration for Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor came from three disparate sources: Niagara Falls, a concert by Irish-American cellist Victor Herbert, and the illness of his sister-in-law Josefina.

Composition History

The original ending of Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor was extended after Josefina's death, adding reminiscences and a quotation from her favorite song, changing the overall impression to one of farewell.

Composition History

Dvořák composed an earlier Cello Concerto in A major in 1865 for a cellist-colleague, Ludevít Peer, but never orchestrated it, and the manuscript was thought lost for many years.

Composition History

Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor was influenced by his sister-in-law Josefina, for whom he had previously been in love, and her illness intensified his inspiration.