Dvorak: Cello Concerto / The Water Goblin / Karneval
8/1/2003, 5 Tracks, 1:09:27
Featuring
Kees Bakels
Torleif Thedéen
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Antonín Dvořák
Did you know?
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Composition History
Dvořák's symphonic poem The Water Goblin is based on a folk/mythological ballad from Karel Jaromír Erben's collection The Bouquet of Flowers.
Performer Biography
Torleif Thedéen, the cellist on this recording, gained international recognition in 1985 by winning three of the world's most prestigious cello competitions.
Composer Biography
Antonín Dvořák, the composer, was often criticized for writing concertos that were too orchestral, overshadowing the soloist.
Composition History
Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor was originally conceived as a piano concerto but was changed to a cello concerto after he met cellist Hanuš Wihan, its dedicatee.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Dvořák viewed himself as both an 'absolute musician' and a 'tone poet,' using music to portray characters and tell stories, bridging the aesthetic divide of his era.
Composition History
The three overtures, In Nature's Realm, Karneval, and Othello, were conceived by Dvořák as a programmatic cycle exploring the existential themes of 'nature, life and love'.
Composition History
While composing the Cello Concerto, Dvořák quoted his own song 'Laßt mich allein in meinen Träumen geh'n' as a tribute to his sister-in-law, Josefina Kounicová, who was terminally ill.
