Prague

Since their debut as a trio in 1986, Čeněk Pavlík, Marek Jerie and Ivan Klánský have ranked among the finest chamber musicians of their generation. Here, to mark thirty-five years of playing together, the Guarneri Trio Prague immortalise works by Haydn, while celebrating the composer’s eternal youthfulness with all the expressive intensity and spirit that we have come to expect of them.

Antonín Dvorák's Stabat Mater, Op. 58, truly merits the adjective "tragic"; it was written after the deaths of two of the composer's children in succession, and his grief rolled out in great, Verdian waves. There are several strong recordings on the market, including an earlier one by conductor Jiří Bělohlávek himself, but for the combination of deep feeling, technical mastery from musicians and singers who have spent their lives getting to know the score, and soloists who not only sound beautiful but are seamlessly integrated into the flow, this Decca release may be the king of them all. To what extent was the strength of the performance motivated by Bělohlávek's likely fatal illness (he died days after the album entered the top levels of classical charts in the spring of 2017)? It's hard to say, although he also delivered top-notch performances of Dvorák's Requiem in his last days. The members of the Prague Philharmonic Choir sing their hearts out in the gigantic, shattering opening chorus, which has rarely if ever had such a mixture of the impassioned and the perfectly controlled. Sample the chorus "Virgo virginium praeclara" to hear the magically suspended quality Bělohlávek brings out of the singers in lightly accompanied passages.

Oh, not another Dvořák Cello Concerto recording, you would be justified in asking. Well, yes and no. This is indeed a special one, but not only for the superb performance the German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser gives with the Prague Philharmonia under Jakub Hrůša of this most popular of all cello concertos. What makes this disc practically indispensable is its inclusion of the less frequently heard Lalo concerto in the best account I have heard since Pierre Fournier recorded it many years ago with Jean Martinon and the Lamoureux Orchestra for DG.

The story of the Prague Symphony Orchestra is closely related to the history of the Czech capital, which leaves an impression on their repertoire. After their successful recording of Karel Husa's Music for Prague 1968 (Supraphon, 2021), the orchestra and its chief conductor are coming up with another album dedicated to Prague. This time, the programme is focused on the late 19th century, i.e. the period when the Czech nation fought for its language, culture and identity within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

One of the benefits wrought by the CD era was the recording of composers and repertoire that the big international labels would never even consider in the LP era. Many small Cd labels did very well with early music, composers of national or regional repertoire and minor composers of all eras some of whom were major composers in their day. This is the case with the three composers on this disc, all of whom had reputations throughout Europe.

Jacques Loussier, of course, moved on from ''Play Bach'' a long time ago, although the wider musical audience no doubt has little recollection of him away from that context. Yet the pianist always had a rigorous intellectual grasp of his musical ends and means, even when the average album by his group was capable of selling half a million copies. In a sense, Bach was never the focal point of his musical discourses, although the great man's music remained the bedrock of Loussier's questings.