Cello Concerto / Water Goblin / Carnival, concert overture, Op.92

To many lovers of the cello, Dvorak's Cello Concerto is the ultimate work for the instrument - a work where the cello's various qualities are all brought to the fore. It is therefore with great pleasure we welcome a new interpretation of it into the BIS catalogue. Written during the composer's American period the concerto has an unmistakable undertone of nostalgia for his Czech homeland, as well as containing a touching tribute to his sister-in-law (in the Adagio, and towards the end of the Finale) who died during the completion of the piece. Soloist Torleif Thedéen will need no presentation, and after his recordings of the Schumann and Elgar Concertos (BIS-CD-486) as well as concertos by Schnittke, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski and Penderecki among others, his interpretation of this the 'king of concertos' will surely be of great interest to many. As for the orchestra, this is the first recording we release with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, here under it's music director Kees Bakels. Founded only in 1998, the MPO has had the best possible conditions for rapidly developing into an excellent orchestra. Musicians recruited from around the world have come together to collaborate with some of the world's finest conductors and soloists, and they do so in a custom-built hall which would be the envy of many a European or American orchestra. And even though the orchestra plays a substantial role in the Cello Concerto, it is in the other two works on this disc that the MPO has occasion to show what they are capable of: the symphonic poem The Watergoblin and the concert overture Karneval. Here the drama of the first and the boisterous joie de vivre of the second are given free reins.