Slavic Rhapsody Ciconia Consort & Dick van Gasteren

• Bedrich Smetana (1824 - 1884), Bohuslav Martinu (1890 - 1959), Josef Suk (1874 - 1935), Leoš Janácek (1854 - 1928), Antonín Dvorák (1841 - 1904): Serenade for Strings in E Major, B.52:
• 1Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Serenade for Strings in E Major, B.52: I. Moderato04:04
• 2Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Serenade for Strings in E Major, B.52: II. Tempo di Valse06:06
• 3Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Serenade for Strings in E Major, B.52: III. Scherzo. Vivace05:41
• 4Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Serenade for Strings in E Major, B.52: IV. Larghetto05:52
• 5Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Serenade for Strings in E Major, B.52: V. Finale. Allegro Vivace05:49
• Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2:
• 6Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2: I. Moderato04:03
• 7Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2: II. Adagio03:56
• 8Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2: III. Andante con Moto01:01
• 9Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2: IV. Presto02:53
• 10Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2: V. Adagio03:36
• 11Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Suite for String Orchestra, JW6 No. 2: VI. Andante03:52
• Meditace na staročeský 'Svatý Václave', Op. 35a:
• 12Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Meditace na staročeský 'Svatý Václave', Op. 35a06:20
• Partita Suite No. 1 for String Orchestra, H.212:
• 13Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Partita Suite No. 1 for String Orchestra, H.212: I. Poco Allegro03:12
• 14Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Partita Suite No. 1 for String Orchestra, H.212: II. Moderato02:57
• 15Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Partita Suite No. 1 for String Orchestra, H.212: III. Andante Moderato02:36
• 16Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Partita Suite No. 1 for String Orchestra, H.212: IV. Poco Allegretto03:31
• Rybář [The Fisherman], JB1:
• 17Smetana, Martinu, Suk, Janácek, Dvorák: Rybář [The Fisherman], JB1: 704:19
• Total Runtime01:09:48

Info for Slavic Rhapsody

The soul of Bohemia: familiar masterpieces and little-known gems for string ensemble by the five most famous Czech composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The affection and vigour of Dvorák’s Serenade for Strings has kept its freshness while many other works from the same era have receded into obscurity. This performance by the Ciconia Consort lends it a new lease of life: as rhythmically springy and attentive to detail as the ensembles previous, critically acclaimed explorations of the string-orchestra repertoire of France, England, the US and Germany in beautifully curated themes.

Janáček’s Suite for Strings is an early work, Romantic in character and recognisably descended from the String Serenades of Dvorák and Tchaikovsky, but nonetheless characteristic of the composer’s quirky language with its adoption of Czech speech rhythms. In 1931, Martinů was also inspired by Czech folk melodies when writing his Partita as a Czech émigré in faraway Paris. However, Martinů develops these melodies in a modern style reminiscent of Béla Bartók. Without slow movements, intimacy, or a poetic character, the character of the suite as a whole is spicy, tough and extrovert: inimitably Martinů.

Smetana scored his tone-picture Rybář (The Fisherman), for harmonium, harp, and strings: it is a musical ‘tableau vivant’ after Goethe’s poem Der Fischer, which describes a fisherman who is overpowered by the mysterious and magical pull of the water. The theme of Rybář and Smetana’s haunting translation into music also make it a kind of study for his evocation of the river Vltava in Ma Vlast. A little more familiar is the grave Meditation on the Hymn to St Wenceslas by Dvorák’s student and son-in-law, Josef Suk, in which the old melody is treated like a family heirloom.

‘Dick van Gasteren directs the players with a sure hand. The recorded sound is warm, with a certain degree of plush resonance... this definitely makes for enjoyable listening; cordially recommended.’ Fanfare (‘Rheingold’, 96426)

‘I enjoyed this disc greatly… The Ciconia Consort does Castérède proud, dispatching the counterpoint in the finale with relish.’ Fanfare (French Music for String Orchestra, 95734)

In Slavic Rhapsody Ciconia Consort presents both known and unknown works for string ensemble by the five most famous Czech composers of the 19th and 20th centuries: Dvořák, Janáček, Smetana, Martinů and Suk. Due to an increased interest in its own folk-music, the rhapsody became an important musical form for Slavic composers from the middle of the 19th century. The word ‘rhapsody’ is derived from the Greek ‘rhapsōidos’ (classical professional performer of epic poetry in ancient Greece). At first, the musical rhapsody manifested itself as a song form, though later, in the middle of the 19th century, an instrumental form also appeared in the grand symphonic rhapsody. Rhapsodic music (in either form or subject) is made up of contrasting styles and moods, often with a theme common to folk melodies, interweaving the improvisational rhapsodic elements within traditional musical forms.

Ciconia Consort
Dick van Gasteren, conductor

Dick van Gasteren
Since its founding in 2012, Dick van Gasteren has been conductor and artistic director of the string orchestra Ciconia Consort. In addition, Van Gasteren is permanent guest conductor of the famous Orquesta Simón Bolívar, which he conducted in symphonies by Schumann, Bruckner and Mahler, among others. He also regularly conducts other Venezuelan orchestras of 'El Sistema' such as Francisco de Miranda and Teresa Carreño and, as a teacher at the Conservatorio Itinerante de Venezuela, gives conducting lessons and master classes to talented young conductors.

Dick van Gasteren studied cello, orchestral conducting, art history and law. He began his musical training at the age of nine as a cellist and continued his studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague with Anner Bijlsma (master's degree 1988). He studied orchestral conducting with Jan Stulen (Higher Certificate 1990), followed by lessons from Bernard Haitink in London. He studied art history and law at Leiden University, where he obtained the title of master of law in 2003.

Van Gasteren took cello master classes with Heinrich Schiff and Godfried Hoogeveen, among others, substituted with several Dutch orchestras and gave recitals throughout the Netherlands, including in the Kleine Zaal of the Concertgebouw. He was laureate at the conducting master class of the 'Accademia Musicale Chigiana' in Siena led by Ferdinand Leitner and at the Vienna Meisterkurs. As Haitink's assistant, he conducted the Fernorchester at a concert of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Mahler Festival Amsterdam (1995).

Dick van Gasteren was a guest conductor with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, with various concert programmes. As part of the Pasar Malam, he conducted six sold-out performances at the Koninklijke Schouwburg The Hague of Constant van de Wall's Dutch-Indonesian opera Attima (1917). Abroad, he conducted numerous opera productions at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (Don Pasquale, Die Fledermaus, Othello and Elektra) and conducted the Wiener Klangforum Orchester and the Nürnberger Symphoniker with works by Stravinsky (Firebird), Beethoven (fifth symphony), Mendelssohn (Italian symphony), Respighi, Saint-Saëns and Berlioz, among others.

In 2003, he featured in two episodes of the television programme 'Het klokhuis', which focused on the profession of conducting. In October 2010, Walburgpers published his book 'About youth orchestras and the didactics of conducting'. He also published several Dutch symphonic works by Johannes Josephus Viotta that he rediscovered.

For ten years, Dick van Gasteren successfully conducted the Viotta orchestra in major works of orchestral literature (Stravinsky, Strauss, Mahler, Bruckner, Rachmaninov and Shostakovitch) and could regularly be seen and heard with this orchestra in major concert halls such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and on Dutch radio and TV. Five successful tours abroad (including Prague, Florence, Salzburg and Venice) can be looked back on with satisfaction. In the summer of 2007, he led the Viotta Orchestra to a first prize in the international orchestra competition Summa Cum Laude and conducted the final concert in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein.

Booklet for Slavic Rhapsody