Thursday, March 19, 2015

Karel Sejna on Spotify

Tracks blocked on Spotify... 


NOW WHY DO SOME RECORD COMPAGNIES DO THIS…???
When I was searching for recordings by this Tsjech conductor, his bio can be found -> here <-, I stumbled upon a fine Beethoven Pastorale and even finer Mozart 38, but… all the tracks larger than 10 minutes were blocked. Why? I encounter this more on spotify, like the DG Boulez box and the awesome Zdenek Kosler Prokofiev Symphony cycle, also on Supraphon. It’s a bad advertisement for Spotify… 
But… There is also much to enjoy by Sejna, like the glowing and heartfelt warmth of the not-so-well-known Suite in A, nicknamed “American” (where did we hear that before) by Antonin Dvorak. Folksy melodies in the Moravian Slovak suite by Novàk, of which the Gramophone wrote: “The real gem on this disc by Sejna, though, is the Slovak Suite, full of the most gorgeous melody (try the third movement, ''Lovers''), captivating local colour (''The Band'') and genuinely touching inspiration (the concluding ''At Night''). The raw power of Martinu’s concerto for Strings Piano and Timpani (!) is never captured better than on this live recording from 1959, not even by the modern version by Charles Mackerras.

Hope you will enjoy this Tsjech selection!


Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Suite for orchestra in A major ('American'; arr. from suite for piano, B. 184), B. 190 (Op. 98b)
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
rec. 4-5 July 1956

Vitezslav Novak (1870-1949)
Moravian-Slovak Suite for Small Orchestra op 32
Brno State Philharmonic
rec 1966

Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)
Double Concerto for 2 string orchestras, piano & timpani, H. 271
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
rec Dvorák Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague, 15-17 Sept 1958 (stereo)