Rudolf Firkusny made a specialty of Dvorák’s sole piano concerto and recorded it on four occasions, supplemented by at least two live broadcast performances still in circulation. The pianist’s 1963 Vienna recording is the least of the batch. Although Firkusny plays well, especially in the otherwordly colorations he obtains in the slow movement, the closely miked piano comes off as dynamically restricted as the poorly balanced orchestra. Moreover, despite admirable individual contributions from the woodwind principals, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra’s scrawny string tone and less than world class ensemble values prove a liability in both the concerto and the three orchestral works that fill out the disc. Unlike Firkusny’s later and superior traversals with Susskind (Vox) and Neumann (RCA) that mostly utilize Dvorák’s Urtext for the solo part, here the pianist opts for Vilém Kurz’s once-favored revision, as he did in his wonderful (and, of course, out-of-print) mono version with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. In sum, this is a disc that will appeal to ardent László Somogyi collectors.
