Dvorak: Symphony No. 9; Fibich: Twilight (with Poema) [Hybrid SACD]

1	Symphony No. 9 in E minor
2	Symphony No. 9 in E minor
3	Symphony No. 9 in E minor
4	Symphony No. 9 in E minor
5	At Twilight (Am Abend), s
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9; Fibich: Twilight (with Poema) [Hybrid SACD]
1.	Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("From the New World"), B. 178 (Op. 95) (first published as No. 5) 45:12
	Composed by Antonin Dvorák
	Performed by Philharmonia Hungarica
	Conducted by Jan Valach
2.	At Twilight, symphonic poem for orchestra, Op 39 16:14
	Composed by Zdenek Fibich
	Performed by Philharmonia Hungarica
	Conducted by Jan Valach

All Music Guide

Despite all of its flaws, it's okay. It's heartfelt and that makes it honest and that makes it okay. In every phrase in every bar, it's clear that Jan Valach and the Philharmonia Hungarica mean what they play in this recording of Czech orchestral music. They may not always play with the most polish or the best ensemble or the most beautiful tone or the tightest tempo, but they play everything with the utmost sincerity. That's what makes it okay. The strength, the sentimentality, the sense of ineffable yearning of Dvorák's "Symphony From the New World" is affectionately captured by Valach and the Philharmonia Hungarica. The languor, the sensuality, the sense of insatiable lust of Fibich's "Twilight Idyll" for orchestra is lovingly embraced by Valach and the Philharmonia Hungarica. The massed brass blows notes, the violins slip out of tune above the staff, and the violas smudge harmonies left, right, and sideways, but still, there are the moments like the one toward the close of Dvorák's Largo when the cellos spin lines of limitless longing that transcend intonation and enter infinity and then the listener knows that, despite all its flaws, it's heartfelt and honest. Classic Talent's super-audio, direct stream digital, stereo multichannel sound is vibrant without being vivid. James Leonard