MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


 
REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS
Download: Classicsonline


Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841–1904)
Symphony No.7 in D minor, op.70 (1884/1885) [37:04]
Symphony No.8 in G, op.88 (1889) [37:17]
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop
rec. live, 10–13 January 2008 (8); 19–22 March 2009 (7), Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, USA. DDD
NAXOS 8.572112 [74:21]

Experience Classicsonline
After Alsop and her Baltimore Orchestra’s magnificent performance of the New World Symphony (Naxos 8.570714) this was an issue which I eagerly anticipated, perhaps with a little too much expectation.

The Seventh is Dvořák’s ‘Tragic Symphony’, a dark and brooding work, created in the minor key and filled with catastrophe and foreboding. Even the dance–like scherzo isn’t the light-hearted piece it should be. I have written elsewhere that one of the most exciting things about Marin Alsop is that she is inspirational, and in concert creates the most electrifying performances. At the same time, this kind of inspiration isn’t always conveyed from a disk, when you can hear the performance repeatedly. I feel this very strongly in this performance of the Seventh Symphony, which is exciting, colourful and very good, but as an interpretation lacks drive and drama. Even the opening is totally lacking in mystery. Overall, it is all too charming – Dvořák’s smiling face is in every bar, but this isn’t what is wanted. Here is a very serious work which is full of some of this composer’s deepest symphonic thoughts and the final Tierce de Picardie, far from bringing about a state of satisfaction and well-being, merely serves to create even greater tension and despair. Alsop seems to see the work as another of Dvořák’s good natured peasants–dancing–and–frolicking–in–the–fields pieces, rather than the catastrophic, and indeed dangerous, work it is.

The Eighth Symphony is the smiling, gambling and frolicking Dvořák we know and love. After the too light touch she brought to the Seventh I fully expected Alsop to be more at home here, but again I was disappointed. She sometimes brings too much weight to music which neither needs, nor demands, it, whilst at other times she can be bland. Added to which it is far too lightweight, not that any real weight is required in this work, but it needs more than it is given here.

As concert performances these would probably be most acceptable, but they are not for repeated listening for they do not carry the full authority of performance which is essential to a CD for home consumption. For passion and a real sense of balance and style, go either to Barbirolli, with his beloved Hallé (No.7 is coupled with No.9 on Phoenixa 63774 and No.8 is coupled with the Scherzo Capriccioso and three Legends on Phoenixa 64193) or, if you want both Symphonies together, the Philharmonia under Kubelik (Testament SBT 1079) or the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, under Libor Pesek (Virgin Classics 90756). These are great Dvořák interpretations.

The sound is excellent, you’d never believe that these were live performances for there isn’t a murmur from the audience! The notes are good, but I cannot say that this is worth having for the interpretations simply aren’t up to the music. A rare failure for this wonderful conductor.

Bob Briggs
 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.