Laurene Durantel, Kathryn Stott, Škampa Quartet - Dvořák: String Quintet, Piano Quintet (2007)

Idiomatic doesn't even begin to describe the music-making on this disc coupling Dvorák's String Quintet in G major, Op. 77, and his Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. Not only are the four members of the Czech Skampa Quartet -- violinists Pavel Fischer and Jana Lukásova, violist Radim Sedmidubský, and cellist Lukás Polák -- incredibly tight, together, and in the groove with the music's Bohemian rhythms, but so are their guest artists: French double-bassist Laurène Durantel and English pianist Kathryn Stott. The Skampa plus Durantel play the five-movement String Quintet as if they've always known it, singing and supporting each other with exemplary ease, and the Skampa and Stott create a performance of the four-movement Piano Quintet of such relaxed control and comfortable passion that it comes close to rivaling the best ever made. Some listeners might wish for a less narrow string tone and a less aggressive ensemble attack, but on their own terms, these superb performances will surely please most fans of Dvorák's chamber music. Recorded in Prague's Rudolfinum by director Jaroslav Rybár in early 2007, Supraphon's digital sound is close, clean, and very slightly dry.