Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 'From the New World' & Symphonic Variations – Gunzenhauser, Naxos (CD)

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Product Details

• UPC: 4891030502710
• Catalogue Number: 8.550271
• Brand/Label: Naxos
• Composer: Antonín Dvořák
• Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser
• Release Year: 1990 (recorded 1–2 March 1989 and 10–11 November 1989)
• Genre: Classical – Symphony
• Country of Producing: Germany

Product Features

• Format: Audio CD, DDD (fully digital recording)
• Total playing time: 64:46
• Cover artwork: Broadway, New York in 1860 (Topographikon)

Overview

The "New World" Symphony needs almost no introduction — it's one of the most performed and recorded symphonies ever written, and for good reason: the Largo alone (later adapted into the spiritual-like "Goin' Home") has become one of classical music's most recognizable melodies. Written during Dvořák's stint directing New York's National Conservatory, the symphony blends genuine American musical influences he encountered there with his own Czech melodic sensibility, producing something that sounds both distinctly personal and broadly universal. Stephen Gunzenhauser and the Slovak Philharmonic give it a well-paced, unfussy reading that lets the big tunes land without unnecessary sentimentality. The disc pairs it with the Symphonic Variations, Op. 78 — a genuinely underrated work, 27 variations on an original theme that show off Dvořák's orchestrational imagination in ways the more famous symphony doesn't always have room for. Recorded at Bratislava's Reduta Concert Hall across two 1989 sessions, this is a strong, accessible account of Dvořák's best-known symphony alongside a real hidden gem.

Interesting Facts

• The Largo movement's main melody was later adapted into the spiritual-style song "Goin' Home," making it one of the most widely recognized tunes in classical music.
• Dvořák composed the symphony while serving as director of New York's National Conservatory of Music, incorporating musical influences he encountered in America.
• The Symphonic Variations, Op. 78, comprise 27 variations on an original theme and are considered one of Dvořák's most technically accomplished orchestral works, despite being far less frequently performed than his symphonies.
• This recording was made across two separate sessions eight months apart in 1989 — one for the symphony, one for the Symphonic Variations.
• The cover artwork depicting 1860s Broadway situates the disc visually in the American context that shaped the symphony's composition.

Track Listing

Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World'

1. Adagio – Allegro molto – 11:36 · 2. Largo – 11:58 · 3. Molto vivace – 8:07 · 4. Allegro con fuoco – 11:00

Symphonic Variations, Op. 78

1. Theme – Variations 1–27 – Finale – 22:05

Publishers

Naxos, part of the Naxos Music Group, recorded at the Reduta Concert Hall, Bratislava (producer Martin Sauer, music notes Keith Anderson). Distributed by MVD Music and Video Distribution GmbH, Unterhaching/Munich, Germany.

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