Dvorák: Love Songs, Piano Quintet, Cypresses
Label: AVIE Catalog: AV2234 Format: CD Thymos Quartet; Adriana Kucerova, soprano; Christoph Eschenbach, pianoAntonin Dvorák (1841 - 1904) "Think about a young man in love - this is what they are about," wrote Dvorák to his publisher when he was preparing Cypresses for string quartet. The title is taken from a volume of poems by Gustav Pfleger-Moravsky which inspired the composer's earlier burst of song writing in 1865, eight of which later became the cycle Love Songs Op. 83, and 12 of which were arranged for string quartet, five of them presented here. Recalling youthful love letters that are preserved and cherished, Love Songs and Cypresses combine beautiful melodic simplicity with the technique of a composer who was, by the mid-late 1880s, at the height of his powers. Cypresses in their string quartet form were premiered on 6 January 1888, on a bill which also featured the first performance of the Piano Quintet, Op 81. Price: $25.98 |