Kimbo Ishii, the conductor, has been the General Music Director of Theater Magdeburg since the 2010/2011 season and has conducted numerous opera productions and symphonic concerts.
Instruments
Adolfo Gutiérrez Arenas performs on a cello crafted by Francesco Ruggieri in Cremona in 1673.
Composition History
Dvořák initially regretted writing his Concerto in A major, conceived 30 years before the Cello Concerto Op. 104, and never orchestrated it, restricting it to a cello and piano reduction.
Composition History
Dvořák wrote his Cello Concerto Op. 104 while in American exile, after premiering his New World Symphony in 1893, with the cello's sound evoking his homeland.
Composition History
The Adagio of Dvořák's Cello Concerto Op. 104 includes a lied, 'Lasst mich allein', written for Josefina Cermakova, his unrequited youthful love, upon learning of her illness.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Dvořák initially believed the cello was not well-suited as a solo instrument, stating its place was in the orchestra and chamber music, and that the violin was superior for solo work.
Performer Biography
Adolfo Gutiérrez Arenas, the cellist on this recording, was born in Munich to Spanish parents and began playing cello at age 14, later receiving decisive impulses from Bernard Greenhouse, cellist of the legendary Beaux-Art-Trios.
