Album

Dvorák: Greatest Hits is Sony's 2010 update on the slightly different compilations previously released on LP and CD by Columbia and CBS Masterworks, with a few changes of performers and program that arguably make this a superior offering to any that came before it. The series roster no longer includes the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, and André Kostelanetz, who dominated the albums in the 1970s, nor are Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, and Richard Hickox retained from the 1990s Dvorák release, but such important artists as George Szell, Charles Münch, Andrew Davis, Andrew Litton, and Rudolf Kempe are included to show a much wider group of conductors available to the label. There are still the expected nods to the Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World," the Carnival Overture, and the most popular of the Slavonic Dances, but this album offers some material that was hitherto not represented, such as mezzo-soprano Leontyne Price's rendition of the "Song of the Moon" from the opera Rusalka, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers' performance of the Romance in F minor, and an excerpt from the Munich Philharmonic's recording of the Serenade for Strings. As with any compilation purporting to gather a composer's best work, this one is a suitable introduction to Dvorák's buoyant and melodic music, but beginners should certainly seek out recordings of complete works and only use this CD as a starting point.

© Blair Sanderson, Rovi

CD 1
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Carnival, Op.92 Work Sir Andrew Davis Conductor, Philharmonia Orchestra of London Orchestra
1	Carnival, Op.92	9:32			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Rusalka, B.203, Op.114 (lyric fairy tale, opera) Work New Philharmonia Orchestra Orchestra, Nello Santi Conductor, Leontyne Price Soprano
2	Song of the Moon	6:14			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.9 in E- ('From the New World'), Op.95 Work Cleveland Orchestra Orchestra, George Szell Conductor
3	2.Largo (containing theme 'Going Home')	12:11			Album Only
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Romance in F-, for violin and orchestra (arr. from Andante of String Quartet No.5), B.39, Op.11 Work Andrew Litton Conductor, Philharmonia Orchestra of London Orchestra, Anne Akiko Meyers Violin
4	Romance in F-, for violin and orchestra (arr. from Andante of String Quartet No.5), B.39, Op.11	10:53			$1.98
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 8 Slavonic Dances, B.78, Op.46 Work Cleveland Orchestra Orchestra, George Szell Conductor
5	1.Presto in C	3:53			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Slavonic Dances, B.145, Op.72 Work Cleveland Orchestra Orchestra, George Szell Conductor
6	2.Allegretto grazioso in E-	6:00			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Serenade for Strings in E, Op.22 Work Munich Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Rudolf Kempe Conductor
7	1.Moderato	4:31			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 7 Gypsy Melodies, Op.55 Work Rudolf Firkusny Piano, Frederica Von Stade Mezzo-Soprano
8	4.Songs My Mother Taught Me	2:22			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Cello Concerto in B-, Op.104 Work Gregor Piatigorsky Cello, Charles Münch Conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
9	1.Allegro	15:45			Album Only