Volume 28 Issue 4 | February - March 2023

Old Wine,
New Bottles
Fine Old Recordings Re-Released
BRUCE SURTEES
At the beginning of 2022, Supraphon
released a 15CD box set of Karel Ančerl Live
Recordings with the Czech Philharmonic
Orchestra (supraphon.com). Unearthed
from the Czech radio archives, this collection
includes some previously unpublished
recordings making this set a must-have for
collectors of one the 20th century’s greatest
conductors. All will recognize the orchestra’s
signature sound and be thrilled with this collection of music
from well-known names and many little-known Czech composers.
Ančerl was born into a prosperous family in Czechoslovakia in 1908.
Very well educated, after graduating from the Prague Conservatory
he pursued conducting under the tutelage of Hermann Scherchen
and Václav Talich. His career was halted for World War II. He and his
family were sent to a concentration camp in 1942, and ultimately to
Auschwitz. Tragically his wife and young son did not survive.
After the war he became artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic
where he stayed for 18 illustrious years. While there, he established
the orchestra as one of the world’s premier ensembles and won them
international fame with frequent extensive concert tours abroad and
numerous recordings on the Czech Supraphon label. He is still credited
with establishing the distinctive Czech sound. He was well known
as a great champion of the music of his homeland as well as for his
broad repertoire of modern music.
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 resulted in his
emigration to Toronto. He had been a guest conductor of the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra the year before, in 1967. He was immediately
appointed permanent music director of the TSO and remained there
until his death at age 65 in 1973. His death was attributed to illnesses
resulting from his time in prison camps in WWII.
Now to the music! Many of you will already be familiar with some
of his many studio recordings but this collection of concert recordings,
wonderfully remastered, offers us music, from a wide range of
composers including the conductor’s contemporaries, that was never
recorded in the studio. There is one exception, Ma Vlast which Ančerl
did record in studio. These concerts were recorded between 1949 and
1968 including the Prague Spring Festival concert in May 1968 just
prior to his departure to Toronto.
I’ve been happily making my way through these discs and have
found that there were many outstanding performances.
I particularly enjoyed Vítězslav Novák’s (1870-1949) Pan
(Symphonic Poem), Op.43. It’s a very exciting and dramatic piece
of music written in 1910. His Autumn Symphony for chorus and
orchestra is also included. Both pieces I have not had the pleasure to
enjoy until now.
This new collection manages to fill gaps left in Ančerl’s studio
recordings. Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 as well as world-renowned
repertoire of the 20th century, notably Debussy, Ravel, Strauss and
Prokofiev. One is left wondering if there was anything that Ančerl
couldn’t do, conducting such diverse composers all with a profound
understanding of the music. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra is
joined by the orchestra’s choir as well as numerous admired soloists.
This box set comes with very richly detailed annotations, much
thanks to Petr Kadlec. Although the sound quality varies, this is to be
expected of detailed mono concert and radio recordings.
I cannot remember my first encounter
with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams
but through the years his music has never
failed to speak to me. SOMM Recordings
has issued Volume 1 of a proposed series
of Vaughan Williams Live, commemorating
the 150th anniversary of his birth
(somm-recordings.com/label/Ariadne) with
performances conducted by Sir Malcolm
Sargent. This first volume contains Symphony No.6 in E Minor, played
by the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1964) and a brilliant Symphony
No.9 in E Minor played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded
What we're listening to this month: New to the Listening Room
47 Multiple Voices for One
David Greenberg
47 Conjuring: Viola Music of
David Jaeger
Elizabeth Reid, Alison Bruce
Cerutti, David Jaeger
48 Vagues et ombres
collectif9
51 Portrait: Alex Baranowski
Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà
51 Nagamo
Andrew Balfour &
musica intima
52 Tu me voyais
Christina Haldane
53 Jules Massenet
Intégrale des mélodies pour
voix et piano
Various Artists
54 Pachelbel
Magnificat Fugues
Space Time Continuo
56 Time
Klaudia Kudelko
57 Children's Corner - Music
for Solo Piano
Melody Chan
58 Kaleidoscope ~ Music for
Mallet Instruments
Bill Brennan
59 ILTA
Stefanie Abderhalden &
Kyle Flens
59 After
Kate Read
61 Poul Ruders:
Clarinete Quintet
Rudersdal Chamber Players
61 Album for Astor
Bjarke Mogensen
61 Suite Tango
Denis Plante &
Stéphane Tétreault
62 Featuring
Caity Gyorgy
65 Lush Life
Heather Ferguson
65 Funk Poems for 'Bird'
Timuçin Şahin's Flow State
66 Songwriter
Alex Bird &
Ewan Farncombe
67 Hooked
Dizzy & Fay
69 Within
Die Hochstapler
Read the reviews here, then visit
thewholenote.com/listening
70 | February & March, 2023 thewholenote.com