Rostropovich, Ozawa: Dvorak – Concerto pour Violoncelle, Tchaikovsky – Variations Rococo (APE)

Composer: Antonin Dvorak, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich
Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Seiji Ozawa
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Erato
Size: 184 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Cello Concerto in B minor, B. 191 (Op. 104)
Composed by Antonin Dvorak
with Mstislav Rostropovich
Conducted by Seiji Ozawa

# Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello & orchestra (or cello & piano) in A major, Op. 33
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
with Mstislav Rostropovich
Conducted by Seiji Ozawa

01. Cello Concerto In B Minor: Allegro
02. Cello Concerto In B Minor: Adagio ma non troppo
03. Cello Concerto In B Minor: Finale: Allegro moderato
04. Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op. 33

Perhaps the best reading of the Dvorak concerto on disc

While there are moments when one could wish for the fuller, lusher sound of the BPO’s strings, both Rostropovich’s performance and the sound quality lift this recording of the Dvorak B-minor Concerto head and shoulders above the DG version with Von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic. Rostropovich pushes the envelope again and again, giving his performance a drive and emotional intensity virtually unmatched by any other reading in the catalogs. Truly a Dvorak to move the soul.
While his playing is masterful in Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, here the Karajan/BPO disc reigns supreme.
Rostropovich is ably backed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa; the winds in particular shine in this superb Erato recording. The perfect disc would couple the Erato Dvorak with the Deutsche Grammophone Tchaikovsky, but if you can’t justify both, the Ozawa/Boston Symphony disc is the one to have. This reading of the Dvorak is simply not to be missed.