Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 7-9

These live performances of Dvořák’s last three symphonies, recorded in February 2020, show Dudamel’s view of the 19th-century Czech composer to be intensely thrilling. In the much-recorded “New World” Symphony, he draws playing of burnished splendour from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with a poignantly shaped cor anglais solo in the haunting “Largo”. The finale of the Eighth Symphony is another feature, its rollicking high spirits alternating with exceptional sensitivity in the reflective interludes. The darker-hued Symphony No. 7 is trenchantly projected but never overheated, with unflinchingly articulate playing in all departments. Throughout the set, Dudamel’s expert balancing of the orchestra yields a tingling clarity of texture, offering an unrivalled insight into Dvořák’s resplendent soundworld—and his artful orchestration.