Funky as it was, you can retire the old
Kertesz recording of Dvorák's Serenades. Elegant as it was, you can retire the old
Marriner, and virtuostic as it was, you can retire the old
Orpheus, too. Because as great as they all were, this 2001 recording by
Myung-Whun Chung and the
Vienna Philharmonic is simply the greatest recording of these two eternally delightful works ever recorded. Part of the reason -- maybe the largest part -- is the magnificent playing. In the Serenade for winds, the oboes are sweetly plangent, the clarinets are tenderly dulcet, the bassoons are suavely elegant, the double bassoon is gracefully gawky, the horns are romantically rousing, and in its solo in the sensual Andante con moto nocturne, the double bass is as sexy as a double bass can be. In the Serenade for strings, the strings of the
Vienna Philharmonic play with incredible precision, unbelievable passion, and unending beauty of tone; in other words, like the string section of the world's greatest orchestra. But some of the reason is the exquisitely tactful conducting.
Chung molds each of the movements of the Serenade for strings into a heartwarming and soul-satisfying whole. Better yet, he lets the
Vienna's wind players have their way in their serenade, allowing them the freedom to be themselves in the context of his genial direction. And a small part of the reason is Deutsche Grammophon's superb sound: real and lifelike and right in your living room.