Dvorak: Symphony No 6; American Suite

James Gaffigan is a thoroughly genial guide to Dvorák’s Sixth Symphony, one of the composer’s most consistently sunny works. The American conductor finds plenty of bite in the distinctive twists and turns of the furiant (a Czech dance) that Dvorák used for the Scherzo, and he certainly doesn’t shirk the implications of the dark clouds that occasionally gather over a work that’s often described as being pastoral in nature. But the standout characteristic of the performance is the way Gaffigan delights in, as it were, drawing attention to the special beauties of the gorgeous landscapes he’s leading his listeners through. The gentle straightforwardness is not quite as successful in the musically slender Suite, Op 98b, from Dvorák’s American years. harmoniamundi.com