Symphoniker Hamburg / Alexander Malofeev / Sylvain Cambreling

Antonín Dvořák loved his new summer residence in Vysoká, a refreshing retreat made possible by the success of his first trip to England. He led »a happy life« there, was able to »gather new strength« and »enjoy God’s beautiful nature« every day. In August 1889, he began his Eighth Symphony, a light, cheerful counterpart to the difficult, serious Symphony No. 7 in D minor that preceded it in 1885. Dvořák now returned to his beloved Czech folk music in a veritable melodic roundelay of summery joie de vivre. The basic mood of the work led Eduard Hanslick to say that »the sun always shines in Dvořák’s music«. And it shines in an enchanting abundance of natural moods and sounds, with bird calls for which Dvořák, a bird lover, found wonderful woodwind solos.