Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104

Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104

Emmanuel Krivine leads the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, featuring Aleksandr Khramouchin as the soloist. The Cello Concerto is one of the most-performed works in its genre. Dvořák composed the work during his three-year term as Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. The composer dedicated the concerto, which he completed in 1895, to the renowned Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan, his friend and colleague. Wihan suggested several improvements, including the addition of two cadenzas, but Dvořák only accepted a few minor changes. Of interest in the middle section of the second movement is the quotation of Dvořák's song “Leave Me Alone”, a favorite of his sister-in-law Josefina Čermáková, who was ill at that time, and would soon pass away. This performance was recorded in May 2011.