This is some set, the first of its kind and a mandatory acquisition for anyone who cares about Dvorák. On 17 CDs you get all of the published orchestral works, including all of the symphonies, concertos, tone poems, overtures, suites, dances, and short pieces, some of which (such as the opera preludes and interludes, the early symphonic poems and overtures, and the newly-discovered Seven Pieces for Small Orchestra) aren’t available anywhere else. It’s truly a collection that adds up to much more than the sum of its occasionally variable parts.
Stephen Gunzenhauser’s accounts of the symphonies aren’t competitive with the classic sets by the likes of Kubelik, Rowicki, and Kertesz, but they remain fresh and unpretentious performances played by an orchestra that knows the music well. All three concertos are well done by Jenö Jando (piano), Ilya Kaler (violin), and Maria Kliegel (cello). It’s nice to have the late Zdenek Kosler represented in the Slavonic Dances and Rhapsodies, and the contributions of Antoni Wit and Libor Pesek (the tone poems and various overtures and shorter works) stand up to the competition very well indeed.
In fact, some of these performances, such as the Oslo Wind Soloists’ account of the D minor Serenade and the disc of concert overtures (also with Gunzenhauser), rank among the finest available. So a project of this scope is bound to have its inconsistencies–but what comes across most strongly is the amazingly fine quality of so much of the music, even the little-known items, making this set a long overdue tribute to a great composer. For that alone Naxos deserves the thanks of music lovers everywhere.
