The Cello Concerto by Dvorák is one of the most popular concertos ever written and one of Dvorák's last ever works, but a strange and rather tragic, story lies behind its composition. Renowned director Tony Palmer investigates the story behind the music in the wonderful ‘Dvorák - In Love?’.
In the early 1980s Tony Palmer visited Prague looking for books about Dvorák, at the time Czechoslovakia's most famous composer, surprisingly there were none. In September 1988 he filmed a new recording of the Cello Concerto in Prague, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the great Czech maestro Václav Neumann, the soloist was Julian Lloyd-Webber, already making a reputation as one of the leading British cellists of his generation. He went on to explore how this stunning piece of music came to existence.
‘Dvorák - In Love?’ was originally a co-production with Czechoslovak Television, but when
they saw the finished film and its political content, in tears they explained why it could not
be shown in Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia. Two years later the Russians were finally
thrown out and this film was the very first documentary to be shown on the newlyliberated
Czech television.
Region: 0 (All Regions)
Rating: E (exempt)
Duration: 52 mins
Picture Format: NTSC (all regions), 16:9, colour
