Václav Neumann conducts Dvořák & Smetana Czech identity

Václav Neumann recorded two complete cycles of the Dvořák symphonies. The first, from 1971-73, can be found on Supraphon SU4090-2, an 8-CD box of his analogue recordings which also includes orchestral works, including The Wild Dove. His digital remake of the symphonies from the 1980s was made at around the same time that he and the Czech Philharmonic made visits to the Lucerne Festival, two examples of which are presented in audite’s release. The orchestra appeared on consecutive evenings in August 1984, from which we hear The Wild Dove and the Prelude to Libuše. Then, from 26 March 1988, comes the Symphony No 8.

Neumann’s earlier cycle is by common critical consent the superior, and with sonics to match. However, he remained a superior interpreter of Dvořák’s symphonies and this live Lucerne recording suffers little in comparison with his commercial recordings. The Czech strings are warmly textured and the winds are, as ever, characterful, Neumann unfolding the symphonic argument with natural pacing and judicious orchestral weight, whilst allowing wind counter-melodies room to breathe and phrase. Those nuanced wind choirs make their mark again in the slow movement where he cultivates a natural gravity without any over-emphasis and in the Scherzo there’s elegance as well as charm. Nothing is underplayed, though – full measure is given to the folkloric elements in the music, but they’re not exaggerated. If Neumann is sometimes seen as a middle-of-the-road conductor, maybe that’s because he was seldom prone to exaggerations of tempi, rubati or dynamics. The brass has its moment in the finale where the ‘village band’ sonorities are splendidly put across and the slow section is well integrated. This is recognisably the Neumann of the recorded legacy, less febrile than the Eighth of his great predecessor Václav Talich, though broadly similar to Kubelík, but even more to Otmar Suitner in his excellent Staatskapelle Berlin cycle.

Michael Struck-Schloen’s booklet notes, finely translated by Viola Scheffel, strike a rather militant position regarding Talich’s recording of The Wild Dove, which he claims ‘exaggerates the effect of mourning and exuberance’ in this vivid tone poem, based on a story by Karel Jaromír Erben. I can’t agree, not least in Talich’s 1954 live performance, which is only a minute fleeter than Neumann’s, but that’s a side issue. I will agree that Neumann’s reading is cogent and resourceful, that it marshals the music’s various incidents well, from the glowering opening Andante section through the village wind band thence to the darker sonorities of the ensuing sections where the music’s tragic implications are finally played out. The disc ends with Smetana’s Prelude to Libuše, his great national opera where the brass is on excellent form in its opening peroration and things continue in similar vein, the Czech Philharmonic proving redoubtable ambassadors for its country’s music.

The main question, though, is the Eighth Symphony. If you have the earlier symphonic cycle it will be of documentary interest only and if you have that box you’ll also have the tone poems. Neumann was generally a consistent artist and there are minimal discrepancies between his performances – the differences tend to focus on the sound quality of his recordings. Nevertheless, this is an attractive example of his art and is heard in fine sound.

December round-up Václav Neumann was chief conductor of the Czech Phil for 22 years, and in 1969 this was the first orchestra from behind the Iron Curtain to visit the Lucerne Festival. Neumann brought them back in zhe 1980s, and these Swiss Radio recordings are released for the first time. In Dvorák’s Eights Symphony in 1988, Neumann is direct and unfussy, coaxing a lovely string sound, while the Czech Phil’s characterful winds are wonderful, the horn sound warmed with vibrato. From their 1984 visit, the darkness of Dvorák’s The Wild Dove is fully realized, and the Prelude to Smetana’s Libuse glows with national pride.

Vaclav Neumann hatte ich Ende der Sechzigerjahre bei einem Konzert in Luxemburg kennen gelernt. Ich habe ihn als einen liebenswerten, bescheidenen Mann in Erinnerung, der aus dem Orchester warme Farben und viel Cantando herausnahm. Diesen Eindruck vermittelt auch das vorliegende Album.

In der Interpretation der Achten Dvoraks verhindert Neumann, dass die Musik energetisiert wird und gibt die Partitur in einer bewundernswerten Gelassenheit wieder. Die Schönheit des Orchesterklangs, die Hervorhebung des Melos (der Gesänge und Gegengesänge), die Vielfalt der Klangfarben und die beispielhafte Ausgewogenheit zwischen den Registern machen diese Aufführung zu einer meisterhaften Interpretation.

Antonín Dvorak schrieb seine symphonische Dichtung Die Waldtaube im Jahr 1896. Sie ist inspiriert von dem gleichnamigen Gedicht aus Kyrice, einer Balladensammlung von Karel Jaromir Erben, und beschreibt die Geschichte einer Frau, die ihren Mann tötet, um einen anderen Mann zu heiraten. Kurz darauf sitzt eine Taube auf dem Grab seines Opfers und singt Tag für Tag ein trauriges Lied, das die Frau in den Selbstmord treibt.

Die Tondichtung ist sehr dramatisch und voller Leidenschaft, was in Vaclav Neumanns intensiver Interpretation sehr gut zum Ausdruck kommt. Er kann den großen dramaturgischen Bogen meisterhaft realisieren und dabei fesselnde Stimmungen schaffen.

Das Album schließt mit dem Vorspiel zu Bedrich Smetanas Oper Libuse, die sehr selten aufgeführt wird, weil sie keine wirkliche Handlung hat. Sie besteht aus drei Bildern aus dem Leben der mythischen Fürstin Libuse: der Erbstreit, die Hochzeit und das Orakel. Die Musik der Oper ist oft feierlich und glanzvoll, enthält aber auch zarte Passagen. Das resümiert die Ouvertüre sehr gut, die Vaclav Neumann spannungsvoll dirigiert.


English Translation:

I met Vaclav Neumann at a concert in Luxembourg in the late sixties. I remember him as an amiable, modest man who got warm colors and a lot of cantando out of the orchestra. The present album conveys this impression as well.

In his interpretation of Dvorak’s Eighth, Neumann avoids energizing the music and renders the score with admirable composure. The beauty of the orchestral sound, the emphasis on the melos (the chants and counter-chants), the variety of timbres, and the exemplary balance between registers make this a masterful performance.

Antonín Dvorak wrote his symphonic poem The Wood Dove in 1896, inspired by the poem of the same name from Kyrice, a collection of ballads by Karel Jaromir Erben, which describes the story of a woman who kills her husband in order to marry another man. Shortly afterwards, a dove sits on the victim’s grave and sings a sad song day after day, driving the woman to suicide.

The tone poem is very dramatic and full of passion, which is well expressed in Vaclav Neumann’s intense interpretation. He masterfully realizes the great dramatic arc and creates captivating moods.

The album closes with the prelude to Bedrich Smetana’s opera Libuse, which is very rarely performed because it has no real plot. It consists of three scenes from the life of the mythical princess Libuse: the inheritance dispute, the wedding and the oracle. The music of the opera is often solemn and glamorous, but it also contains tender passages. The overture, conducted by Vaclav Neumann, sums this up very well.