DVORAK: Miniatures, Bagatelles, Terzetto; SUK: Piano Quartet Op. 1 - Suk/Ambros/Untermüller/Barta/Simon

"The work delights me as if I were writing a grand symphony…" So Dvořák confided to his music publisher, Simrock, when working on Opus 75a (Miniatures). Within a short time, he had revised it for violin and piano under the new title Romantic Pieces. The other Dvořák chamber compositions on this CD, Bagatelles and Terzetto, rank up there with this opus when it comes to sheer spontaneity, inventiveness and unrestrained joy. The atmosphere of Hausmusik in which they were composed is augmented by the virtuosity of Josef Suk, a violinist in whose blood this music circulates. The majesty, playfulness and emotion with which the Master and his young co-players have acquitted themselves of Dvořák's pieces on this new recording bears witness to the fact that some musicians don't age but, like good wine, mature. The recording is rounded off by an exquisite piano quartet of the then twenty-seven-year-old Josef Suk. The origination of the composition was encouraged by Dvořák himself, Suk's teacher. This recording is a testament to the fact that despite his tender age Suk was already a mature composer abounding in invention.

Antonín Dvořák
Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 75a, B 149
1. Cavatina. Moderato 03:07
2. Capriccio. Poco allegro 02:38
3. Romanza. Allegro 02:45
4. Elegia. Larghetto 05:59
Antonín Dvořák
Bagatelles for Two Violins, Cello and Harmonium, Op. 47, B 79
5. Allegretto scherzando 03:05
6. Tempo di minuetto. Grazioso 03:28
7. Allegretto scherzando 03:18
8. Canon. Andante con moto 04:08
9. Poco allegro 04:42
Antonín Dvořák
Terzetto for Two Violins and Viola in C major, Op. 74, B 148
10. Introduzione - Allegro ma non troppo 04:07
11. Larghetto 04:58
12. Scherzo. Vivace 04:00
13. Tema con variazioni. Poco adagio. Molto allegro 05:52
Josef Suk
Quartet for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello in A minor, Op. 1
14. Allegro appassionato 06:41
15. Adagio 07:18
16. Allegro con fuoco 07:15