Of these serenades the Tchaikovsky needs no description: a favourite both of string players and listeners for just over a century now. The Dvorak, though; it was an early work of his, even if an award-winning one (I was not aware of this until reading Robin Golding's lucid sleeve-note). And Dvorak's later charm seems to have come only with some difficulty (perhaps the Larghetto excepted), and his life-enhancing treatment of livelier Czech dances came not at all.
Nevertheless, there will be many listeners who do not share this view; and they will be greatly helped in that direction by the present record, which offers splendid performances of both serenades at bargain price. In the Tchaikovsky (which admittedly offers better opportunities) the playing is lively (when called for) and alert (always) in the highest degree. A particular happiness is the transition from ''Elegie'' to finale, which I do not recall hearing better managed ever before.
The LP is recorded in very good balance and with very good string tone, if perhaps not quite so rich in double forte (and one especial passage in treble forte) as could be. Nevertheless, the over-emphasis of higher violin tone noticed by IM in 1981 would seem to have been now dealt with; I noticed none on the present pressing save where the composer's scoring originated this in the first place.'