When Antonín Dvořák arrived in New York 1892 to take up the post of Director of the National Conservatory of Music, he brought with him Nature, Life, and Love, a cycle of three concert overtures. He had composed the third, Othello, earlier that year and conducted the premiere of the trilogy as part of a farewell concert in Prague. Although named a concert overture, Othello is close to being a symphonic poem in its dramatic musical interpretation of Shakespeare’s play and its frenetic climax of the tragic events.
Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus by the German playwright Helmina von Chézy concerns the attempts of the heroine to reclaim her throne despite the efforts of the governor to thwart her. The play closed after two performances in 1823 and is all but lost, though the music written by her friend Franz Schubert—which we know as his Incidental Music to Rosamunde—remains an absolute triumph of the Romantic era. It consists of nine numbers, and included on this disc are the famous Entr’acte No.3 and Ballet No.2.
