Paavo Jarvi - Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 "From the New World" - Martinů: Symphony No. 2, H. 295 (2005)

By pairing Antonin Dvorák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World," with Bohuslav Martinu's Symphony No. 2, Paavo Järvi points out significant connections between these two important Czech composers and their works. Each symphony was composed and premiered in the United States, and each draws on the indiginous American music of its time: the influence of African-American spirituals pervades Dvorák's Ninth, and jazz somewhat affects Martinu's Second. This much may be obvious from casual listening or from skimming the liner notes, but much more pronounced in both works is the continuing power of Czech songs and dances, without which neither symphony is imaginable. So Järvi's programming is illustrative of Czech symphonic development and helpful in showing the importance of folk material for both composers; but beyond these points, the listener may feel the CD is qualitatively unbalanced, and that Martinu's charming but uninspired music is mere filler for Dvorák's great masterpiece, which simply overwhelms it in scope, imagination, and visceral excitement. Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra give a vigorous reading of "From the New World" that sounds especially sharp and incisive in Telarc's terrific recording. But even with the best intentions, solid playing, and excellent reproduction, there is little anyone can do to make Martinu's modest work seem even remotely comparable.

Review by Blair Sanderson