Dvorak - Cello Concerto [Lloyd Webber/ Neumann-Czech Philharmonic Orchestra]The British Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber has made a wonderful recording here, i enjoyed all three movements to an excellent high degree, amazed by the genius and tunefulness of Dvorak.
Also i really like the booklet shot, i take it it's the Vltava river in Prague, with the old city in the background, it's the front to back perspective [background/foreground], the left to right railings, it has depth and width, and the colours are pleasing, others probably just see a photo!.
For me the slow Adagio epitomises Dvorak at his romantic best, it starts off with the most tender achingly woodwind intro [0:00-0:33], full of pathos and yearning, the cello makes its entry, and then the clarinet/woodwind come back in, and there's a lovely dialogue with the cello [0:57-1:24], what an opening!, probably the highlight of this movement, there's a nice inventive passage early on [2:48-3:45], it starts off with forte strings and brass [2:48+], and then the cello has a free flowing melody, while the strings are busy in the background [3:00+], and it ends with the flutes and cello in dialogue [3:26], Dvorak must have thought highly of it, as he repeats the whole thing [4:24, 4:39 & 5:05], but of course with different variations/combinations, there's a wistfulness about the closing pages, a superb and satisfying slow movement.
