An air of businesslike formality settles over these neatly tailored performances, a case more of swinging rolled umbrellas than swirling skirts. The overall impression is of solid music-making, rhythmically well focused but rather unidiomatic. Cellos are a prominent feature throughout (try 4'08'' into No. 10), but when Levi indulges in the odd spot of rubato (such as the little ritardandos that he inserts at around bar 14 into No. 3), the effect tends to be a trifle contrived. Fast-slow contrasts are highlighted (notably in Dances Nos. 11 and 13) and some of the more fiery Dances – I’m thinking in particular of Nos. 8 and 15 – are brilliantly played.
Sometimes the approach seems stiff-jointed and I miss those telling inflexional gestures that Kubelik, Talich and Sejna bring to these pieces. Telarc’s chunky sound frame leaves no detail to chance, and all 16 dances are meticulously balanced. A worthy production, then, but not a front runner.'