Nine symphonies, three
concertos, two serenades, sixteen Slavonic
dances. Admirers of Dvořák
will almost certainly know these works
but what of his other orchestral music?
This disc covers quite a lot of ground
and would seem to provide a good entry
point. Sensibly the music is not arranged
in chronological order because the earliest
work here, the Seven Interludes
is neither particularly characteristic
nor striking. Instead, the Mazurka,
originally written for violin and piano
(but arranged with orchestral accompaniment
by the composer and dedicated to Pablo
Sarasate) gets things off to a rousing
start in a spirited rendition by Alexander
Trostianski. The conductor, Dmitri Yablonsky,
then nips off the podium to fetch his
cello and plays the Rondo, another work
which started life as a duo with a piano
and soon got upgraded. Later he also
plays Silent Woods and in both
cases produces a mellow sound which
is well integrated with the orchestra.
The latter piece started life as one
of a set of six piano duets but listening
to it here you would never know. In
between, come the Seven Interludes;
I have listened to these several times
in search of real interest but in vain.
At least Yablonsky doesn’t fall into
the trap of trying to overplay them
and they lack the excessive longueurs
of the early string quartets which Dvořák
was writing at about the same time.
The rest of the disc
contains much delightful music, in particular
the American Suite (originally
for piano) in five movements, in which
the composer of From the New World
is easily recognizable. This is
the most important work on the disc
whilst the Five Prague Waltzes,
firmly rooted in the mid-European tradition,
are probably the most fun along with
the Mazurka. The Nocturne in B has an
interesting history since it started
life as the slow movement of the 4th
string quartet (marked Andante religioso)
and was initially recycled for violin
and piano. The concluding Polka is a
delightful postscript.
This is a well-filled
disc with a cleverly arranged programme.
The orchestral playing is of a high
standard and Yablonsky directs with
a straight bat(on). The recording is
basically of good quality but sometimes
sounds just slightly brash. Good notes,
attractive picture of Prague on the
front (by Ignacy Pinkas), usual low
Naxos price – this could fill a gap
in anyone’s collection very nicely.
Patrick C Waller
see also review
by Colin Clarke
Alexander Trostianski (violin) 
