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A look at the great talent of Dvorak's pupils in an original selection of famous

and less famous works

The present compilation - a sequel to the 3CD set The Many Loves of Antonin

Dvorak - is intended as a timely reminder of the wealth and sheer diversity

of talented Czech composers who emerged from Dvorak's masterclass at

the Prague Conservatoire during the 1890s and early 1900s. Dvorak,

approaching fifty and at the height of his fame, had been persuaded

to devote some of his time to teaching at the Conservatoire, thereby creating

a lasting legacy, an influential "Dvorak School" of composers, several of whom

went on to teach at the Conservatoire themselves, passing on the tradition

to future generations. Naturally, the most room is given to Josef Suk,

the pupil of Dvorak who left the most original legacy of compositions.

A separate CD is devoted to Dvorak's lesser-known pupils: the talented

melodist Oskar Nedbal won fame for his operettas, and Julius Fucik is

celebrated for his witty marches, while the legendary violinist Jaroslav Kocian

wrote music for his own instrument, and the Czechoslovak Legionnaire Rudolf

Karel was an exemplary patriot. Also of interest are composers who are

entirely forgotten apart from a single work of greater significance, like Adolf

Piskacek, Vojtech Kuchynka, and Arnost Praus. A third CD belongs

to the underappreciated master Vitezslav Novak, whose distinctive

modernism builds upon Dvorak in an interesting manner. Once again, there

is an excellent selection of music from the Supraphon catalogue with all of

the most important names such as the violinist Josef Suk, the pianist Ivan

Moravec, and the conductors Vaclav Talich, Karel sejna, and Libor Pesek.

Other outstanding performers on this compilation include Igor Ardashev,

Jan Panenka, Emil Leichner, Josef Vlach, Josef Veselka, Karla sroubek, Vaclav

Snitil, Richard Novak, Beno Blachut, Ivan Kusnjer, and many others. The English

music journalist Patrick Lambert, an important expert on Czech music with

deep knowledge of the Supraphon catalogue, selected the music and wrote

the insightful text in the booklet.