Dvořák – Glazunov – Gershwin. With a touch of hyperbole, this combination of seemingly disparate music worlds can be conceived as a comparison of the reverberations of Slavonic musicality in various corners of the world.

Dvořák’s Symphony No.3 abounds with “Slavonic” melodiousness and pathos. Glazunov was inspired by the mastery of the American saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr, yet in terms of style he remained in the domain of the Romantic concerto, without being influenced by the jazz conquering North America at the time. George Gershwin, a composer seemingly distant from the Slavonic world, hailed from a family of Russian émigrés and, in addition, had to square up to the legacy of Antonín Dvořák, whose pedagogic work in the USA markedly influenced several generations of composers.

The common denominator of these recordings is the personality of Václav Smetáček, to whom the Prague Symphony Orchestra is indebted for its worldwide renown. Smetáček’s peerless recording of Dvořák’s third symphony contained on this CD (for the first time) is supplemented by superb performances of the pianist Jan Panenka and the jazzman, conductor and composer Karel Krautgartner.