As with José Serebrier’s and Marin Alsop’s versions of the Sixth Symphony, Gerard Schwarz observes the important first-movement exposition repeat. In the very opening of the work, like Alsop, he achieves a marginally greater sense of urgency, whereas Serebrier takes a more genial approach, one where groups of instruments relate to each other in a way that suggests affectionate dialogue. Schwarz has the full orchestra take up the main theme without broadening the tempo (Serebrier’s ritardando is a mite overdone) and Alsop does the same. His Adagio is more solemn, and broader, than either of his rivals: note the portamento thrust of the cellos at 3'51" and the eerie chiming of alternating winds and violas soon afterwards, with the violins wafting in beyond them. Utterly magical. Of the three Scherzos, Schwarz’s seems happier to dance; and, once into the fray, the finale generates rather more in the way of excited abandon. His recording too has greater transparency, whereas on Serebrier’s version, although the sound is impressive, you’re aware of what seems like a certain amount of manipulation from the control room. Schwarz usefully separates his violin desks, which pays generous dividends in the finale. So, bottom line: Serebrier is a rustically satisfying Dvořákian, nicely recorded, Schwarz the more refined and at times more spirited interpreter with a slightly superior orchestra and more natural sound, and Alsop sits somewhere between the two.

Couplings will prove crucial. Serebrier’s account of Dvořák’s Third – another heart-warming performance – provides the more generous and I suppose more musically significant option, and Alsop’s choice of Dvořák’s Nocturne and Scherzo capriccioso is logical enough. But Janáček’s youthful seven-movement Idyll for strings of 1878, although hardly characteristic of the composer’s maturity, is a really beautiful work, redolent at times of Dvořák, at other times of Tchaikovsky, and an effective showcase for the Seattle strings, who distinguish themselves with a degree of lustre and expressive sweetness that matches the best rival American orchestras. If you were to buy this CD just for the Idyll (it plays for a few seconds under half an hour) you would be in for a real bargain, even without the Dvořák Sixth. Enough said.