Ma Vlast (Incls The Moldau)

"Ma Vlast is one of my favorite pieces of music. And I firmly believe that Zdenek Macal gives a tremendous reading of it here on this disc. The performance is reverently passionate, the recording is lush, but not nearly as vibrant as it maybe could have been. I used to think this was a sad recording flaw. But, in fairness to Telarc engineering, I recently had the pleasure of hearing several pieces from Ma Vlast performed live in Atlanta. And I came to the realization that, just like Schumann, Smetana could sure write a tune, but was exceedingly murky and unimaginative when orchestrating. His muted symphonic range causes the orchestra to produce sounds that will remind you of a top notch analog transfer. Macal's forces, on the other hand, spend plenty of time lingering over the melodies and exuding nostalgia that you forget about the sonics by the end anyway. The terrific performance overcomes any objections I have to the lack of presence. Buy and enjoy"
(Amazon.com)