Dvorak: Serenade for Winds in D minor, Op. 44 - CD

István Kertész made one of the first stereo cycles of Dvorák’s symphonies on Decca with the London Symphony Orchestra. Earlier still, in 1961, he recorded just the Ninth (‘From the New World’), with the Vienna Philharmonic – one of the tautest, most thrilling performances ever committed to disc. It is coupled here with a recording made seven years later with the LSO, and long out of the catalogue, that of the Wind Serenade. This release forms part of a survey, on Eloquence, of Kertész’s treasured Decca discography.

Dvorák’s Serenade for Wind Instruments, Cello and Double Bass is a well known work but Mendelssohn’s Overture in B flat for 10 Wind Instruments is not. The least known work and the greatest discovery on this CD is Wilhelm Emilius Hartmann’s Serenade in B flat; an outstanding work which has fallen into complete oblivion.

The art of arranging music so that the works can be played in a small venue or domestic environment is as old as time. Before the advent of mechanical music reproduction around the time of World War I, the parlour piano and reductions of orchestral and operatic scores for small ensemble were the only ways a wider public could enjoy such music in the home.

On this CD, two popular works are given similar treatment in skilful arrangements by Mordechai Rechtman. Dvorák’s serenade for wind ensemble dates from 1878, and is a genial work of grace and charm written for a group of friends. Dvorak admired the wind serenades of Mozart, and coupled with the earthiness of Czech rhythms and folk dances, the serenade has become one of Dvorák’s most popular and engaging works.

Haydn’s Symphonia Concertante is a late work written in the 1790s. It is one of the last examples of a genre that is directly descended from the Baroque concerto grosso – Beethoven’s Triple Concerto being probably the final example. Typically, it is wonderfully fresh energetic music of undimmed inventiveness and humour, and belies the fact that Haydn was now an old man.

These are live performances by world-class artists. The two featured works are very different in style and were composed 17 years apart. The performance features a top lineup of soloists including Sharon Kam.

“In my opinion, as soon as Dvorák starts to be pompous, frilly, over-stylized, even rash or studiously virtuoso, the approach is wrong. My goal was to emphasize its simplicity and naturalness, because when this is lost, Dvorák isn’t Dvorák anymore.” These words of Jakub Hruša shine through the young onductor’s third CD, in which he again juxtaposes the works of teacher Antonín Dvorák and his student Josef Suk.