Kertesz’s LSO Dvorák cycle has held up very well, and his recording of the Eighth remains one of the best versions available. Much of the reason stems from the sonority of the orchestra, with forwardly balanced woodwinds and really brazen, rustic horns. That makes the scherzando episodes in the finale (not to mention the closing pages) even more raucously festive than in most other performances, but there’s also plenty of sensitivity in the middle movements. Most of all, Kertesz knows how to keep the music moving while relaxing now and then over a particularly romantic moment; witness the transition between first and second subjects in the opening movement. It’s a beautiful job all around, attentive both to detail and to the big picture, nowhere more obviously so than in the very last bar. Listen to how Kertesz brings out the all-important timpani rhythm, without which the ending lacks the necessary emphasis.
The “New World” also is very good, if perhaps not quite so fine as the Eighth. Here Kertesz is competing with his own early Vienna Philharmonic recording for Decca. Although missing the exposition repeat in the first movement, that version is even more exciting than the remake, and perhaps a touch better played. Still, no one hearing this performance would find much to carp about. Its virtues are very much the same as we find in the Eighth, where lively rhythms, perky woodwinds, and clarity of ensemble all add up to an idiomatic Dvorák sound. The sonics were always good–perhaps a bit grainy by today’s best standards, but somehow, with those prominent winds, are right for the music. An easy recommendation, and a welcome reissue.
