Dvořák: Serenades in E major and in D minor - Tchaikovsky: Andante cantabile

Here is a disc bringing two works which constitute of the most thoroughly charming sections of the compositional legacy of Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904). Both the Serenade for String Orchestra - a composition which, seventeen years from its making, furnished first-hand inspiration for the famous Serenade of Josef Suk - and the Serenade for Wind, are textbook examples of Dvořák's incredible, even profligate wealth of melodic gift. Each of the many themes that crop up in these two pieces aspired in their own time to timelessness, and the two serenades have remained to thepresent day prime export articles treasured by Czech chamber ensembles. When, therefore, the disc's producers found themselves confronted with the option of coupling these two gems with a bonustrack to fill in the space still available, it was by no means easy to find a piece commensurable with Dvořák's radiant inspiration. The final choice of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Dvořák's friend and admirer, and a composer endowed with a similarly powerful primary melodic invention, seemed quite natural. The Andante Cantabile from his Quartet in D major, and the Song without Words are convincing enough... The delicacy of this musical menu is crowned by the dazzling technique and sonic sumptuousness of Josef Vlach's Czech Chamber Orchestra. in its day the archetype of theglorious tradition of Czech chamber music ensembles.

Dvořák and Tchaikovsky: the Slav neoromantics' captivating melodic genius at its finest.