Kubelik's style is probably best suited to the music of Dvorak and Smetana, which he is most famous for, although he really does a number on Mahler as well. This cycle is no exception. Everyone probably recognizes  the second movement "Vltava (Die Moldau)" but the rest of the  work bears listening to as well! From the opening harp cadenza of Vysehrad,  the first movement is powerful (yes, powerful harp!) and dark. As Smetana's  program states, the castle emerges slowly from the fog. The Moldau flows  broadly onwards through a restatement of the Vysehrad-motiv, although the  restatement is a little rushed. Sarka is cunning and even menacing, and  From Bohemia's Woods and Fields is appropriately pastoral. Tabor and  Blanik, the least known of the cycle, are just as effective as the others.  Kubelik most likely did extensive research on these, possibly even visiting  some of the settings, and it shows through very positively. The Boston  Symphony is a favorite of mine (I wonder why...) and to get an American  orchestra to play with as much European flair as it does is no easy task.
Kubelik's style is probably best suited to the music of Dvorak and Smetana, which he is most famous for, although he really does a number on Mahler as well. This cycle is no exception. Everyone probably recognizes  the second movement "Vltava (Die Moldau)" but the rest of the  work bears listening to as well! From the opening harp cadenza of Vysehrad,  the first movement is powerful (yes, powerful harp! ) and dark. As Smetana's  program states, the castle emerges slowly from the fog. The Moldau flows  broadly onwards through a restatement of the Vysehrad-motiv, although the  restatement is a little rushed. Sarka is cunning and even menacing, and  From Bohemia's Woods and Fields is appropriately pastoral. Tabor and  Blanik, the least known of the cycle, are just as effective as the others. Kubelik most likely did extensive research on these, possibly even visiting  some of the settings, and it shows through very positively. The Boston  Symphony is a favorite of mine (I wonder why... ) and to get an American  orchestra to play with as much European flair as it does is no easy task.