Klavrn koncert, Toman a lesn panna – CD

This CD presents Vtzslav Novks Piano Concerto in E minor, the symphonic poem Toman and the Wood Nymph, and the solo piano cycle At Dusk, performed by pianist Jan Barto, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jakub Hra. One of the greatest Czech composers, Novk was a student of Dvok and later became one of the countrys most respected composers and teachers. A late Romantic and one of the first modernists of his generation, he drew important inspiration from Moravian folk music. The 150th anniversary of his birth offers an opportunity to discover his music more closely. Jan Barto championed the first studio recording of the remarkable early Piano Concerto, written when Novk was twenty-five. At Dusk, inspired in part by the poetry of J. S. Machar, provides an intimate counterpart to the concertos virtuoso style. Jakub Hra selected Toman and the Wood Nymph, probably the most ambitious of Novks symphonic works, a musical depiction of the demonic power of woman over man and what the composer called a sound orgy. This recording invites listeners to rediscover Vtzslav Novk.