Smetana Dvorák Suk Ostrcil Œuvres orchestrales Brauner - SU4342 - Supraphon - Classique

Tomas Brauner et son orchestre font décidément de Prague le héros de leurs albums. Après une monographie consacrée aux œuvres de Karel Husa autour de sa "Music for Prague", ils assemblent des partitions connues ou oubliées, consacrées à la capitale de la Tchéquie. Leurs lectures des pages de Dvorak et Smetana n’ajoutent rien à la discographie, sinon pour la "Fanfare du Jubilée", rarement enregistrée. On ira donc d’abord au rare "Conte de Semik" d’Otakar Ostrcil, qui hélas tire un brin à la ligne et dont Tomas Brauner n’anime pas suffisamment le récit. Pari réussi par contre pour le vaste "Praha" de Josef Suk, composé sous le coup de la mort soudaine d’Antonin Dvorak, rhapsodie héroïque où transparait la figure historique de Jan Zizka, qui défie les croisades du Pape contre les Hussites. Tomas Brauner en exalte l’intensité expressive, en arde la narration, ajoutant une nouvelle version éclairante à cette partition peu enregistrée. (Discophilia - Artalinna.com) (Jean-Charles Hoffelé)

The story of the Prague Symphony Orchestra is closely related to the history of the Czech capital, which leaves an impression on their repertoire. After their successful recording of Karel Husa’s Music for Prague 1968 (Supraphon, 2021), the orchestra and its chief conductor are coming up with another album dedicated to Prague. This time, the programme is focused on the late 19th century, i.e. the period when the Czech nation fought for its language, culture and identity within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The backbone of the record is Suk’s monumental symphonic poem Praga, based on the Hussite chorale, “Ktož jsú Boží bojovníci” (Ye Who Are Warriors of God); Vyšehrad from Smetana’s famous cycle Má vlast (My Country); and a rarity: Pohádka o Šemíku (A Tale of Šemík), which is a largely unknown symphonic poem based on an ancient Czech legend connected with Vyšehrad, by Otakar Ostrcil, composed when he was nineteen. And of course, there is Antonín Dvorák. In hardly any work of his is Dvorák as explicitly patriotic as in his overture My Home (which is not very well known either). It is based on the theme of the popular song “Kde domov muj,” which later became the Czech national anthem. Another rarity of this album is Dvorák’s fanfare for the opening of the National Jubilee Exhibition in Prague. After their acclaimed recording of the composer’s Slavonic Dances, the Prague Symphony Orchestra confirm that the Czech repertoire of late Romanticism is their native and most natural language.