Rafael Kubelík Conducts

On this CD:

1. Prodaná nevesta (The Bartered Bride), opera, JB 1:100 Overture
Composed by Bedrich Smetana
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

2. Prodaná nevesta (The Bartered Bride), opera, JB 1:100 Polka
Composed by Bedrich Smetana
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

3. Prodaná nevesta (The Bartered Bride), opera, JB 1:100 Furiant
Composed by Bedrich Smetana
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

4. Prodaná nevesta (The Bartered Bride), opera, JB 1:100 Dance of the Comedians
Composed by Bedrich Smetana
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

5. Legend No. 10, for orchestra in B flat minor, B. 122/10 (Op. 59/10)
Composed by Antonin Dvorak
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

6. Scherzo capriccioso for orchestra, B. 131 (Op. 66)
Composed by Antonin Dvorak
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

7. Double Concerto for 2 string orchestras, piano & timpani, H. 271
Composed by Bohuslav Martinu
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

8. Sinfonietta for orchestra ("Military," "Sokol Festival"), JW 6/18
Composed by Leos Janacek
Performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

Tracks:

I. Adagio-Allegro
II. Andante
III. Presto
I. Adagio-Allegro Molto
II. Largo
III. Scherzo: Molto Vivace
IV. Allegro Con Fuoco

Tracks:

The High Castle
The Moldau
Sarka
From Bohemia's Meadows And Forests
Tabor
Blanik

Tracks:

Promenade
Gnomus
Promenade
Il Vecchio Castello
Promenade
Tuileries
Bydlo
Promenade
Ballet Des Poussins Dans Leurs Coques
Samuel Goldenberg Und Schmuyle
Limoges-Le Marche
Catacombae (Sepulchrum Romanum)
Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua
La Cabane Sur Des Pattes De Poule
La Grande Porte De Kiev
I. Andante Tranquillo - Irwin Fischer
II. Allegro - Irwin Fischer
III. Adagio - Irwin Fischer
IV. Allegro Molto - Irwin Fischer

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Turandot: Scherzo
III. Andantino
IV. Marsch
I. Premonitions
II. Yesteryears
III. Summer Morning By A Lake
IV. Peripetia
V. The Obbligato Recitative
Variations On A Hungarian Folksong 'The Peacock' - Antal Dorati
Suite From 'The Miraculous Mandarin' - Antal Dorati

Customer Reviews:

The Mussorgsky is a Delight .......2006-10-26

I am not an "audio expert", but I do know what I like. And I love this CD. I heard this recording of Mussorgksy's "Pictures From an Exhibition" on an NPR program from The Chicago Symphony. I was very taken with the clarity of sound. I searched for the recording through Amazon and I am absolutely delighted. It is a four dsic set, but I haven't gone on to the other recordings (yet) becasue I keep re-playing this lovely piece. I hope you enjoy it.

A nice collection of performances, but mixed sonics from 50 years ago.......2006-06-01

Audiophiles adore the Mercury Living Presence series issued throughout the early Fifties and Sixties, but for those of us who aren't specialty collectors, it's pretty clear that not evreything on MLP is a gem. This valuable colleciton (mono only) from the doomed tenure of Rafael Kubelik with the Chicago Sym.--he lasted only a few years before the local critic's stinging rebukes sent Kubelik packing in favor of Fritz Reiner--deserves detailed appraisal.

CD 1: Kubelik was a lively, stylish Mozartean, and this 1953 Sym. #38 is quite lovely. It's more streamlined than Walter's recordings of the "Prague," but cut form the same affectionate cloth. The recording, however, is thin and shrill. I found it uncomfortable to listen to except at low volume.

Kubelik recorded Dvorak's "New World" musltiple times; this Chicago reading dates from 1951 and is caught in sharp mono sonics with a bit too much stinging treble for my ears. Even so, there are those who think this lively, rather lean performance is one of Kubelik's best. I'm not sure that it's so special that one should do without stereo, but the choice is personal. The CSO plays superbly, and the general contour of the interpretation is straightforward.

CD 2 is entirely given over to Smetana's Ma Vlast, another Kubelik specialty that he recorded multiple times. This 1952 recording sounds identical to the Dvorak on CD 1--a deep soundstage with lots of dynamic range. The interpretation is essentially moderate and unexaggerated. It's certainly stylish and has real sweep, too. In terms of dramatic impact CD 2 is far ahead of CD 1.

CD 3: Curiously, there are audiophile purists who insist that the Golden Age of 50's mono produced better sound than any current digital recording. If that's a viable position (few outside the cult agree), the works on this CD are prime evidence. Kubelik's Pictures at an Exhibition and Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta were recorded in the spring of 1951. They are vivid and colorful, with tangy wind choirs and plenty of dynamic impact. Kubelik proves a restless, almost nervous interpreter of the Mussorgsky, which refreshes this warhose. Neither the recording nor the CSO's playing really matches the later, legendary RCA performance under Reiner, but Kubelik's reading has more sinew and rhythmic spring to it. He brings the same qualities to the Bartok, which gets a wiry "modernist" interpretation that's very appealing, less offical-sounding than the famous Reiner account.

CD 4: At the start of this CD we are back to the thin sound of CD 1 (both were recorded in 1953 with the same Telefunken 201 micropone). For some reason, however, this disc can be played at louder volume without treble sting. Kubelik's Hindemith Symphonic Meatmorphoses is lean and propulsive. This is a refreshing take, but without gorgeous stereo sound the coloristic aspects of this showpiece can't be fully apreciated.

Being too much of a modernist was a prime factor in getting Kubelik fired, which is all the more unfair because his Schoenberg Five Pieces for Orchestra is a standout, almost the performance of a lifetime. I hope somebody in the conservative Chicago audience appreciated how seductive and witty this performance was; if Schoenerg's masterpiece has ever sounded more like Daphnis and Chloe, I don't know when.

The last two works were recorded in 1954, at the tail end of Kubelik's stay, and the sound remains a bit shrieky. But his itnerpretations of Kodaly's Peacock Variations and Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin Suite are excellent, full of energy and fierceness in the Bartok, making it as scary as the composer intended. Playing the shrill mono recording at full volume is impossibly masochistic on the ears, but the reading is terrific.

Chicago was lucky--they exchanged a near-great conductor for a great one. Mercury, however, lost the best conductor it would ever have, moving on to Dorati and Paray and even more audiophile cult delights.

Kubelik's Classic MLP Recordings Are Back!.......2005-09-14

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing, and while the single disc titles are unfortunately listed at full-price, it is wonderful to see the various multi-disc sets basically being sold at budget line. With this 4CD reissue, Rafael Kubelik's legendary recordings with the Chicago Symphony are restored to the catalog, as only his 1952 rendition of Smetana's "Ma Vlast" was currently in print. (Please note that the performances of Kodaly's "Peacock Variations" and Bartok's "Miraculous Mandarin" Suite are with Antal Dorati leading the same orchestra.) To illustrate how prized these recordings are by collectors, the extremely rare original CD issue coupling the Moussorgsky/Ravel "Pictures at an Exhibition" with Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta" has been known to fetch twice the price of this new set in the Amazon Marketplace! Buying this collection for the Pictures performance alone is worthwhile, as it was the recording that led a critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the Mercury named its series. Of course getting memorable accounts of Dvorak's 9th and Mozart's 38th Symphonies, Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis" and Schoenberg's Five Pieces, Op. 16 is just icing on the cake. Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

Rafael Kubelik Conducts the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Old Czech Masters: Zelenka, Vejvanosky, Tuma, & Mica

Average customer rating:

Rafael Kubelik Conducts the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Old Czech Masters: Zelenka, Vejvanosky, Tuma, & Mica
Frantisek Adam Mica , Frantisek Ignac Antonin Tuma , Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky , Jan Dismas Zelenka , Rafael Kubelik , and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Supraphon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000I57E
Release Date: 1999-02-15

Tracks:

Partita in d: I. Andante
Partita in d: II. Presto
Partita in d: III. Arietta. Andante
Partita in d: IV. Menuet. Trio
Partita in d: V. Presto
Sinf in D: I. Allegro
Sinf in D: II. Andante
Sinf in D: III. Fuga
Hipocondria
Son Venatoria

Average customer rating:

Kubelik Conducts Kubelik

Manufacturer: Panton
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000004AKI
Release Date: 1995-08-22

Tracks:

Orphikon Sym In Three Movts: I. Veloce
Orphikon Sym In Three Movts: II. Adagio
Orphikon Sym In Three Movts: III. Allegro Risoluto
Cant Without Words - Bavarian RSO/Rafael Kubelik/Bavarian Radio Chor/Heinz Mende
Inventions And Interludes (In All Ancient Keys) - Kuhn Children's Chor/Jiri Chvala/Rafael Kubelik