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Dvořák: Moravian Duets

Simona Šaturová (soprano), Markéta Cukrová (mezzo-soprano), Petr Nekoranec (tenor) & Vojtěch Spurný (piano)

Genuine charm is a rare quality, though this delightful disc possesses it in spades…Šimona Saturová’s silvery soprano and Markéta Cukrová’s warm mezzo blend nicely in the Op. 32 and Op. 38 sets,...

Dvořák: Moravian Duets

Simona Šaturová (soprano), Markéta Cukrová (mezzo-soprano), Petr Nekoranec (tenor) & Vojtěch Spurný (piano)

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Genuine charm is a rare quality, though this delightful disc possesses it in spades…Šimona Saturová’s silvery soprano and Markéta Cukrová’s warm mezzo blend nicely in the Op. 32 and Op. 38 sets,...

About

Recorded on the Antonín Dvořák’s piano (Bösendorfer, Wien 1879) at the Antonín Dvořák Museum, Prague, 3–8 June, 2017. „Isn’t it possible to turn some local material into duets, for example Moravian songs?” This question was posed by Jan Neff, himself from Moravia, who grew tired of repeating German songs over and over again at the piano with his wife and Antonín Dvořák. His question in fact stood at the birth of Moravian Duets and also marked the beginning of Dvořák’s journey abroad. “Why not, find good lyrics and I will take care of the rest.” When the composer got the first selection of folk songs from Sušil’s collection, he decided to take only the lyrics and provide them with his own tunes. As soon as the duets got into the hands of Johannes Brahms (who was a member of a committee that assessed Dvořák’s application for a state scholarship), the well-established composer did not hesitate to recommend them to his Berlin publisher Fritz Simrock. “When you play them, you will enjoy them just as I did, and as a publisher you will especially be pleased by their unique beauty.” It was Simrock who initiated the composition of a four-hand version of the Slavonic Dances that led to Dvořák’s first major international success. The present recording is unique in another aspect as well: the complete set of 23 Moravian Duets have been played and recorded on Dvořák’s original grand piano, a 1879 Bösendorfer that is a pride of the Antonín Dvořák Museum in Prague. The challenge was taken hold of by young musicians who are not only crowned by international laurels but also possess a sensitivity both for the charm of Dvořák’s songs and the unique timbres of the instrument touched by the composer’s own hands. The only one and unique – a complete recording of Moravian Duets on Dvořák’s piano.

Contents and tracklist

I. The Possibility
Track length1:46
II. The Apple
Track length2:08
III. The Garland
Track length1:43
IV. The Grief
Track length2:57
I. The Metamorphoses
Track length2:45
II. The Parting
Track length1:50
III. The Poverty
Track length2:32
IV. There´s a Lad A-loughing
Track length2:22
I. I’ll Flee from Thee
Track length2:43
II. Fly, Little Bird
Track length2:45
III. If Only the Scythe Was Sharp
Track length1:07
IV. We Were Friends on Meeting
Track length1:09
V. The Field Near Slavíkov Is Small
Track length1:17
VI. The Dove on the Maple Tree
Track length1:40
VII. Sad of Heart
Track length2:19
VIII. The Modest Maid
Track length1:45
IX. The Ring
Track length2:26
X. Omens
Track length3:36
XI. The Maid Imprisoned
Track length2:53
XII. Comfort
Track length3:38
13. The Wild Rose
Track length3:15

Awards and reviews

September 2018

Genuine charm is a rare quality, though this delightful disc possesses it in spades…Šimona Saturová’s silvery soprano and Markéta Cukrová’s warm mezzo blend nicely in the Op. 32 and Op. 38 sets, where the parallel harmonies are pitch perfect and carefully shaded dynamics convey shifting emotions…Spurný, meanwhile, proves an excellent accompanist, always supportive of the singers, knowing exactly when to hold back and when to assert himself.

7th May 2018

Saturova and Cukrova...bring native linguistic flair and “Slavonic” sound to these delightful miniatures, revealing Dvorak’s bounteous melodic gift in his early thirties. Delectable.
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