Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 & Suite in A Major

Featuring

Iván Fischer
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Antonín Dvořák

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Recording & Production

This recording was made in July 2009 at the Palace of Arts in Budapest, using Bruel & Kjaer 4006 and Schoeps microphones, and DSD Super Audio/Meitner Design AD digital converters.

Composition History

Dvořák's 7th Symphony, which has relatively few Czech nationalist traits, was commissioned by the Philharmonic Society of London and premiered there on April 22, 1885.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Dvořák, despite being a figurehead of Czech classical music, sometimes felt burdened by the nationalistic ideal and preferred to be seen as a European composer, leading him to write his 'least Czech' symphonies, the seventh and eighth.

Performer Biography

Iván Fischer is the founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C.

Composer Biography

Antonín Dvořák initially resisted becoming a professor of composition at the Prague conservatory, believing his duty was to compose, but he eventually served for eleven years.

Performer Biography

Iván Fischer has developed new concert types, including 'cocoa-concerts' for children, 'surprise' concerts with unannounced programs, and 'one forint concerts' where he speaks to the audience.

Compositional Technique

Dvořák's 7th Symphony is unusual because it sustains the D minor key almost to the very end, turning to D major only in the final six bars, unlike many symphonies that transition from sadness to jubilation.