Karel Ancerl in the special company of world-famous soloists. The great success of the 15-CD set Ancerl Live Recordings (2022 - Choc de Classica, Diapason d'Or etc.) and of the series Ancerl Gold Edition (2002-2008) is indicative of Karel Ancerl's firm standing among

the most important conductors of the post-war world. The present album tiesin with the boxed set mentioned above; this time, our selection from the Czech Radio archive contains live recordings with the conductor Ancerl in the role of an accompanist. The list of soloists he invited for collaboration is imposing. Predominant among these names are world-famous artists from the Soviet Union, to which Czechoslovakia was allied in those days, with Prague serving as the Eastern Bloc's gateway to the West. The greatest treasures are the two oldest recordings: unique documentation of Dvorak's Violin Concerto with David Oistrakh (1950), which played a major part in the choice of Ancerlas the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic after Kubelik's emigration, and the oldest recording of Dvorak's Cello Concerto with Rostropovich, issued here for the first time, made two weeks before Rostropovich's legendary studio recording with Vaclav Talich. Often, however, the artists standing to Ancerl's left were stars coming to Prague from the West as well as great Czech artists. The album authentically captures the unrepeatable performances of soloists and orchestra. All of these recordings have been carefully remastered from the original analogue tapes. Lovers of historical recordings will not hesitate.