Karel Ančerl – Live Recordings (24/192 FLAC)

Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Karel Ančerl
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Supraphon
Catalogue: SU43082
Release: 2022
Size: 22.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
Smetana: Má Vlast
01. Vyšehrad
02. Vltava
03. Šárka
04. From Bohemian Fields and Groves
05. Tábor
06. Blaník

CD 02
01. Mozart: Adagio in E major for Violin and Orchestra in E Major, K. 261

Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219
02. I. Allegro aperto
03. II. Adagio
04. V. Rondeau. Tempo di Menuetto

Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C Major, K. 299
05. I. Allegro
06. II. Andantino

07. Dvořák: Scherzo capriccioso, Op. 66, B. 131

08. Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C Major, K. 299: III. Rondo. Allegro

CD 03
01. Beethoven: Coriolan. Overture, Op. 62

Beethoven: Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra in C Major, Op. 56
02. No. 1, Allegro
03. No. 2, Largo
04. No. 3, Rondo alla polacca

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
05. No. 1, Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
06. No. 2, Larghetto
07. No. 3, Scherzo. Allegro
08. No. 4, Allegro molto

CD 04
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
01. I. Allegro vivace e con brio
02. II. Allegretto scherzando
03. III. Tempo di menuetto
04. IV. Allegro vivace

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90
05. I. Allegro vivace
06. II. Andante con moto
07. III. Con moto moderato
08. IV. Saltarello. Presto

09. Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20

CD 05
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, Op. 70
01. I. Allegro maestoso
02. II. Poco adagio
03. IV. Scherzo. Vivace
04. VI. Finale. Allegro

Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88
05. I. Allegro con brio
06. II. Adagio
07. III. Allegretto grazioso
08. IV. Allegro ma non troppo

CD 06
Dvořák: Biblical Songs, Op. 99
01. I. Oblak a mrákota
02. II. Skrýše má a pavéza má
03. III. Slyš, ó, Bože! Slyš modlitbu mou
04. IV. Hospodin jest můj pastýř
05. V. Bože, Bože, píseň novou

Suk: Asrael. Symphony for Large Orchestra in C Minor, Op. 27
06. I. Andante sostenuto
07. II. Andante
08. III. Vivace
09. IV. Adagio
10. V. Adagio e maestoso

CD 07
01. Suk: The Ripening, Op. 34

Foerster: Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 54
02. I. Molto sostenuto
03. II. Allegro deciso
04. III. Andante sostenuto
05. IV. Lento lugubre – Allegro moderato

CD 08
01. Klusák: Variations on a Theme by Gustav Mahler

Novák: Autumn Symphony, Op. 62
02. I. Allegro appassionato
03. II. Bacchanale
04. III. Adagio

CD 09
Novák: Pan, Op. 43
01. I. Prologue
02. II. Mountains
03. III. The Sea
04. IV. The Forest
05. V. Woman

Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death (Trepak aus “Lieder und Tänze des Todes”)
06. Trepak
07. Lullaby
08. Serenade
09. Field Marshal

CD 10
Debussy: La mer, L. 109
01. I. De l´aube a midi sur la mer
02. II. Jeux de vagues
03. III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer

Debussy: Nocturnes, L. 91
04. No. 1, Nuages
05. No. 2, Fetes
06. No. 3, Sirénes

Ravel: Shéhérazade
07. No. 1, Asie
08. No. 2, La flute enchantée
09. No. 3, L´indifférent

Ravel: Rhapsodie espagnole, M. 54
10. No. 1, Prélude a la nuit. Tres modéré
11. No. 2, Malagueňa. Assez vif
12. No. 3, Habanera. Assez lent et d’un rythme las
13. No. 4, Feria. Assez animé

CD 11
01. Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47
02. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
03. Piston: Toccata for Orchestra

Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20
04. Invocation to Veles and Ala
05. The Evil God and the Dance of the Pagan Monsters
06. Night
07. Lolly´s Pursuit of the Evil God and the Sunrise

Lutosławski: Funeral Music for String Orchestra
08. No. 1, Prologue
09. No. 2, Metamorphoses
10. No. 3, Apogeum
11. No. 4, Epilogue

CD 12
Martinů: Concerto Grosso for Chamber Orchestra
01. I. Allegro ma non troppo
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Allegretto

Martinů: Symphony No. 1
04. I. Moderato
05. II. Scherzo. Allegro
06. IV. Largo
07. V. Allegro non troppo

Novák: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
08. I. Allegro
09. II. Andante
10. III. Allegro molto

CD 13
Krejci: Symphony No. 1 in D Major
01. I. Lento – Allegro feroce
02. II. Scherzo
03. III. Allegretto moderato
04. IV. Finale. Allegro vivo

Krejci: Symphony No. 3
05. I. Allegro
06. II. Scherzino. Presto prestissimo
07. III. Aria. Allegretto moderato
08. IV. Molto allegro

09. Jezek: Phantasy for Piano and Orchestra

Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments
10. I. Largo – Allegro
11. II. Largo
12. III. Allegro

CD 14
01. Hindemith: Philharmonisches Konzert
02. Pauer: Rhapsody for Orchestra

Kabeláč: Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 41
03. I. Andante patetico – Allegro
04. II. Presto
05. III. Adagio
06. IV. Andante – Allegro

CD 15
Feld: Concerto for Orchestra
01. I. Introduzione. Andante – Allegro vivace
02. II. Andante non troppo e rubato
03. III. Allegro scherzando
04. IV. Allegro con brio

Schulhoff: Communist manifesto
05. Es ist hohe Zeit. ModeratoH
06. Uns die Erde. Allegro ma non troppo
07. Das wollen wir! Allegro pesante
08. Vereinigt euch! MarciaH

Karel Ančerl was one of the most distinguished conductors in post-war Europe. A survivor of Nazi concentration camps, as well as the openly anti-Jewish policy of Communist Czechoslovakia. An artist who through his limitless patience and diligence transformed the Czech Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra and brought them to the most prominent concert venues all over the globe. Supraphon released the major part of Ančerl’s legacy, the complete studio recordings he made with the Czech Philharmonic, between 2002 and 2008 within the highly acclaimed 48-album Ančerl Gold Edition. Yet the Czech Radio archives maintain numerous recordings of live Czech Philharmonic concerts Ančerl conducted, which complete the picture of the exceptional figure.


The present Supraphon compilation, comprising more than fifteen hours, includes works never recorded in a studio, a repertoire ranging from Mozart to Ančerl’s contemporaries. It features gems by Dvořák (Symphonies No. 7 and No. 8, Biblical Songs) and Suk (Asrael, Ripening), by Ančerl’s beloved Martinů (Symphony No. 1) and Kabeláč (Symphony No. 5), as well as splendid opuses by major 20th-century composers (Debussy, Ravel, Strauss, Prokofiev, etc.). The recording of a concert in May 1968 within the Prague Spring festival of Smetana’s My Country is one of the last Ančerl made before moving to and settling in Toronto.


When the music world was celebrating the centenary of Karel Ančerl’s birth, Ivan Medek, who worked closely with the conductor during his tenure at the helm of the Czech Philharmonic, recalled: “Whenever I listen to Ančerl’s recordings, I am fascinated by their sound and perfection. I think they attest to an illustrious, perhaps the most illustrious, era of the Czech Philharmonic. Interestingly, Karel Ančerl’s physical gestures at the podium never evoked a romantic approach, many people considered him to have primarily been a rhythmicist and a meticulous educator of the orchestra. Yet when I listened to his recording of Brahms’s Symphony No. 1, I was surprised by his ample phrasing and by how much freedom the account contains”.