Houston Symphony Releases Final DVORAK Disc, Featuring Last Four Symphonies

The Houston Symphony, in collaboration with Dutch music label Pentatone, announced today the international release of its most recent recording, which features Dvo?ák's Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) and select Slavonic Dances. The recording is the third and final in a mini-series highlighting Dvo?ák's last four symphonies.

Dvorak's New World Symphony is counted among the most successful and distinctive symphonies ever written. Inspired by American spirituals and Henry Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, this infectiously tuneful work with its colorful orchestration and rhythmic verve has its creative wellspring in Dvorak's own homesickness.

The recording also includes two of Dvorak's evergreen Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, Nos. 3 and 5, which are equally popular with audiences. Responsible for establishing Dvorak's international reputation, these charming pieces overflow with appealing melodies and catchy rhythms.

The completed series of all three recordings marks a milestone for Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, now in his third season as music director as he, together with the orchestra, continues to forge a remarkable relationship and a growing reputation as a heritage-rich, world-class orchestra for audiences in Houston and beyond.

In addition to his role as Music Director of the Houston Symphony, Orozco-Estrada is Chief Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The previously released albums of Dvo?ák symphonies with PENTATONE and the Houston Symphony have been described by Gramophone as "an interpretation full of theatricality, with a sure sense of the monumental."

The live recording of Dvo?ak's Symphony No. 9 and Slavonic Dances was made possible in part by

the Micajah S. Stude Special Production Fund. The Houston Symphony's recording and electronic media initiatives are supported by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. and Bobby and Phoebe Tudor. Additional support is provided by Mr. John N. Neighbors, Mr. Jay Steinfeld and Mrs. Barbara Winthrop, and Stephen and Mariglyn Glenn. The Houston Symphony's Classical Series is recorded for broadcast on Houston Public Media. The Classical Series is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham.

All three albums are now available on stereo SACD and in digital formats for streaming and high resolution downloads through Spotify, iTunes and Amazon.