Classical Principle Weekly
June 6, 2023
Happy Birthday Vaclav Talich (May 28th 1883- March 36th 1961).
March 28th was the 140th birthday of one of the greatest, but least known conductors of the 20th century, Vaclav Talich. You will soon see why he was both.
Several years ago, we sat down with a group of enthusiastic students at the home of the conductor and the foundation’s board president, Maestro Anthony Morss. Tony was not afraid to challenge axioms, and had years ago, the courage to present Beethoven's opera Fidelio at the classical pitch of A at 432hz. As we talked to the students, this exchange occurred:
Fred: I am going to play for you, the very best version of Dvorak's New World Symphony"
Tony: It must be Vaclav Talich!
Fred: How do you know?
Tony: He's incomparable!
THE FIGHT FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM AND CLASSICAL CULTURE AS A UNITY
Rather than tearing down statues, banning books, and canceling great composers who produced masterpieces, we should realize that Classical Culture is a critical component of nation-building. Dvorak was a patriot of what is now known as the Czech Republic (known in his time as Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia). Of his Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, he wrote, “What is in my mind is Love, God, and my Fatherland." He later said that the 4th movement includes a suggestion of the capacity of the Czech people to display stubborn resistance to political oppressors.
Some 50 years later, Vaclav Talich led the cultural defense of the same country then known as Czechoslovakia, when it was under Nazi occupation run by the brutal Reinhard Heydrich, also known as The Hangman."
Dvorak came to the United States in 1892 to help this country advance to a more perfect union, by elevating the music of some of the people who had been most denied their freedom—African Americans and Native Americans.
THE NATIONAL THEATER
The National Theater in Prague was created as a manifestation of national pride. It contains four tons of gold leaf in its roof alone. Donations poured in from as far away as California. Czech Prince Lobkowitz, from a family that supported Beethoven, gave one of the largest contributions. It opened in 1881, with Smetana's opera Libuše, suffered a fire, and reopened in 1883 after even more generous public support, with the same opera (about the 8th-century queen who prophesied the founding of Prague). The Czech Philharmonic was created in 1894, and Dvorak personally conducted its first performance in 1896.
Dvorak wrote that the opening of his 7th symphony sprung from the patriotic feelings of seeing his countrymen emerge from a train to attend musical performances at The National Theater, which supported the Czech nation. Much later, Talich, when asked why he did not leave Czechoslovakia when it was under Nazi tyranny, cited how much the National Theater and the nation had given him. He could abandon neither.
As a boy, Vaclav Talich attended concerts of that orchestra conducted by Dvorak. When Dvorak learned that the boy's father had abandoned the family, he personally sponsored Talich's study at the conservatory. Talich then went on to lead the Czech Philharmonic to new heights and was given an award by the Dvorak family for his efforts.
The Nazis tried to co-opt Talich and insisted he join their anti-Bolshevik League. He refused, saying that there was a lot of good music coming from the Soviet Union. So, the Nazis put out propaganda and forged his signature! One day, Goebbels asked Talich how things were going. His response was something like: "Not bad, for a small nation that is fighting for its very existence."
An enraged Goebbels calmly stated that Talich would take the Czech Philharmonic on a tour of Germany. To refuse would mean death. Talich, who regularly quoted the Bible and Plato to his players, told them that at present, their only means of resistance was to lift their art to new and unexpected levels of excellence.
Talich took the orchestra on a tour of Germany, and played a piece which had been banned by the Nazis, Smetena's Ma Vlast (My Country). We do not know whether the Nazis were so illiterate as to not recognize it, or simply could not suppress the positive response it met. Either way, Talich restored the work to its rightful place. Here is his brilliant performance of the 2nd movement, Vltava, (the main river—known in English as "The Moldau".)
At the end of WWII, Talich was tried as a Nazi collaborator, as was Furtwangler in Germany. Both were exonerated. However, when the Communists came to power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, they did not give a rat's ass about evidence, declared him a class traitor, and put him in prison. He was freed by public outrage but was only allowed to record, not conduct publicly. Thus, there are only a handful of precious recordings by him extant.
Dvorak’s 9th Symphony “from the New World”, reflects how Dvorak, a Czech patriot, adopted the "Negro Spirituals" as the basis of American patriotism. How ironic and poetic it is that a fellow Czech, Talich, understood what he was doing in the USA better than most Americans! This 24-minute audio identifies just how American the symphony really is, and why Talich conducts it so well, partially because he understands that. We think that you’ll find this analysis unique and we look forward to your comments.
https://drive.google.com/…/1AxOAGcPmXJkQr5Yk6hJ-mGUvd…/view…
THE CELLO CONCERTO
In 1952, Vaclav Talich was ready to record Dvorak's only cello concerto, Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191 (written in 1894 from New York for Dvorak’s friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan), with a Czech cellist he had groomed for the role. The Communist authorities imposed a young Mstislov Rostropovich on him.
Fortunately, Rostropovich was both talented and respectful. During a session at the piano, Talich asked Rostropovich what he would think about taking a certain return to tempo gradually. The cellist answered that he would do so if the conductor wished for it. Talich responded, "Good, because I learned it from Dvorak himself." Rostropovich then asked him to teach him everything he knew about the concerto. Later, Rostropovich wrote:
“I consider this recording of Dvorak's cello concerto the best I have ever made. And even though later on I recorded the concerto another seven times, it is the one that means the most to me. Throughout my life I have remained faithful to that which Vaclav Talich taught me.”
Here is a recording of that performance, which many believe to be the best ever done.
Below photos:
The National Theater Prague
Vaclav Talich
Smetena's tomb
Dvorak's tomb
