Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Dvoràk: Complete Concertos (2014)

This wonderful two-disc set charts the progress of Dvořák’s relationship with the concerto form over the course of his career, from the tentative but beautifully peaceful Piano Concerto of his early days to the masterwork that is the Cello Concerto, widely considered the greatest of all concertos for the instrument. This evolution was accompanied by a range of musical and personal influences: the concertos interact with Dvořák’s other key pieces, such as his famous Slavonic Dances, showing snippets of his main musical preoccupations as well as his changing geographic location; and are testament to his important relationships with some of the star soloists of his day – such as the violinist Joseph Joachim or the cellist Hanuš Wihan – for whom he wrote most of the concertos.

Alongside Dvořák’s most famous examples of the concerto form, we are also treated to less-known soloist-and-orchestra works, including the charming Romance in F minor and the dazzling Mazurek in E minor. The soloists in this collection are all veterans of their instruments who deliver exemplary performances, directed under the esteemed baton of Walter Susskind: "In these Dvorak performances his great gifts as accompanist to elite soloistic talents is abundantly evident – he was one of the great concerto conductors of his generation – and the soloists respond in diverse ways, emotional, technical, expressive to the differing demands of the concertos"