Serenade for Wind Instruments

The Ninth Symphony, which Antonín Dvorák himself called "From the New World," was an immense success at its premiere on 16 December 1893 at Carnegie Hall in New York: "The newspapers say that no composer has ever had such a triumph." Yet it was certainly not uncontroversial - Dvorák had been invited to the US with a clear mission to create national American music. He therefore studied the music of the indigenous population, the descendants of slaves and various other inhabitants, and the symphony was created on this basis. Many critics, however, believed that No. 9 had little to do with authentic American music. The work rose above this criticism, however, and remains one of the most popular symphonies of all time. Many years earlier, Dvorák composed the "Serenade for Wind Instruments, Violoncello and Double Bass in D minor." He was probably inspired by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Gran Partita," as the unusual instrumentation of op. 44 - with two oboes, clarinets and bassoons, a contrabassoon and three horns plus two cellos and double basses - strongly suggests. Finnish conductor Pietari lnkinen has led the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie since 2017 - they have always placed a strong focus on late Romantic works. In the summer of 2025 he will step down from his position as conductor to devote more time to his international commitments. He has received numerous awards, including the Franco Abbiati Prize. In October 2023, the film portrait "A baton and a passport - Pietari lnkinen Conductor" was released. This album is the final part of the complete recording of Dvorák's symphonies.