The great 19th-century violinist Joseph Joachim provides a connection between Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and that by his friend Brahms, having given invaluable advice to both composers regarding the works. Dvořák’s Czech spirit is given extra weight through Brahms’s influence, with Classical stature meeting eloquent Slavonic vitality to create a splendid masterpiece, performed here by Ruggiero Ricci in this acclaimed recording. The Piano Concerto is characteristic of the younger Dvořák. It was long championed by soloist Rudolf Firkušný, whose reputation for placing cultured musicianship before extrovert virtuosity suited the work perfectly. This classic VOX recording remains one of the finest versions of the Piano Concerto available, played by the work’s greatest advocate.

This VOX Audiophile Edition recording was first released in 1975 as LP cat. QTV 34691 and SVBX 5135, subsequently appearing as part of VoxBox QSVBX-5135 with all of Dvořák’s works for solo instruments and orchestra in quadraphonic sound.

Violin legend Ruggiero Ricci’s (1918–2012) performing career spanned 75 years, with more than 6,000 concerts in 65 countries, and over 500 recordings.

Pianist Rudolf Firkušný championed Dvořák’s rarely heard Piano Concerto from the 1930s onwards, and so this work is always significant amongst his relatively select discography.

A native of Czechoslovakia, Walter Susskind was a leading conductor in the UK just after the Second World War, performing throughout Europe as an acclaimed guest conductor. He held the post of Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1968 to 1975.

The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

‘Firkušný was the ideal champion of this under-appreciated work. His triumphant and limpid passagework animates the first movement’s Brahmsian moments… Firkušný’s phrasing meanwhile is the perfect mixture of affectionate lyricism and aristocratic control…’ – MusicWeb International on the Piano Concerto

‘Ruggiero Ricci… [gives] a characteristically febrile, coiled and intense performance of a work that has received a number of admirable recordings in recent years… Susskind shapes the bass lines of the orchestral tutti in the first movement with effortless skill; there is crisp articulation and a flexible approach to rhythm…’ – MusicWeb International on the Violin Concerto