In the joint role of soloist and conductor, Joseph Swensen masterminds a lithe, spick-and-span account of Dvorák’s Violin Concerto. Although his tone is not that alluring, he is fully on top of the technical demands. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, too, are on their toes throughout (there’s some especially responsive, finely blended wind playing).

Apart from one or two attention-seeking pianissimi from the soloist that jar on repetition, there’s little with which to take serious issue. But I can’t honestly state that the performance ever set my heart aglow in the way that those two miraculously unforced and authoritative Suk/Ancerl collaborations listed above invariably do. Nor does this newcomer make me listen with fresh ears, something that cannot be said of outstanding recent recordings from Sarah Chang and Isabelle Faust (who strike up characterful and stimulating partnerships with Sir Colin Davis and Jirí Belohlávek respectively). Given such classy competition, Swensen and the SCO don’t quite cut the mustard.

There’s a surprise in the fourth movement Romance of the Czech Suite, where Swensen opts for a basset-horn (as per the composer’s original manuscript) rather than the customary cor anglais. Elsewhere he keeps things on the move but, for all the dapper ensemble and perky vigour on display, I miss the songful affection and joy one encounters on, say, Dorati’s marvellously engineered Detroit SO account. Swensen shows greater insight into the wistfully introspective Nocturne for strings and the winsome A major Waltz sounds captivating in Dvorák’s arrangement for string orchestra. Linn provides first-class sound but even so this is not really distinctive.