Sir Charles Mackerras himself provides potent rivalry in the form of a Classics for Pleasure double-pack where all three late Dvorák symphonies come coupled with the Symphonic Variations. These 2008 live Philharmonia versions of Symphonies Nos 7 and 8 are in general mellower than their 1991-92 predecessors, subtler too in terms of shading and the more expressive tone of various inner voices. The CfP recordings are more sharply focused and have rather more of an “edge” than this Signum production, while energy levels are marginally higher. What I especially liked about the new disc is the naturalness of both readings, always unaffected yet with plenty of discernible character. The Seventh suggests both autumnal thickets and summer skies, though the overall temperature never quite matches Kubelík’s Berlin recording (DG, 10/71^R). Tempi are flexibly negotiated and there’s plenty of light and shade among the textures. The Eighth is extrovert and brightly lit, with one or two telling climactic ritardandi in the first movement and a breathtaking dip to pianissimo just before the horns sound their alarm in the second. The finale isn’t quite as rumbustious as its LPO predecessor but the Allegretto grazioso third movement yields sweetness to spare, much aided by some well employed portamenti.

Marek Stryncl’s booklet-note for his own period-instrument performance of No 8 alerts us to the presence of portamenti, although in actuality Mackerras’s use of it in the Trio of the third movement is both more prominent and more effective. Part of the reason is that it works in conjunction with vibrato, which tryncl more or less outlaws. His performances with Musica Floria are of variable quality, the Eighth’s best moments being in the finale where trilling horns and low brass generally make a fairly strong impression. The Seventh is, well, glum, the first movement dull rather than especially dark and with a finale that has none of the poetic nuancing that Mackerras brings to it, not to mention Kubelík or Monteux. The orchestra works hard but disappoints in one or two key respects: the winds occasionally come across as waywardly tuned and there are moments where the strings fail to project with adequate muscle. Neither performance strikes me as having much of a personality, though the Eighth is marginally better than the Seventh and the fill-ups are better still, especially the dramatic Vanda Overture and the Symphonic Variations. Otherwise, thinking in terms of the symphonies, I’d veer towards Mackerras and Kubelík or, if the “period”-style angle especially appeals, towards the ever-imaginative Nikolaus Harnoncourt with the Royal Concertgebouw (Warner, 12/99).