Dvorák: Symphony No. 3, A Hero's Song
This enterprising disc features two little known masterpieces. The Third Symphony is the great work among Dvorák's early symphonies (though the others are hardly negligible). Its second movement features Dvorák's take on Wagner's "Here comes the bride" chorus fromLohengrin. It's a panic.A Hero's Songis the last of the composer's five late tone poems. It was premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic under Gustav Mahler, no less, and its subsequent neglect is unaccountable. Great stuff, then, and very well played and recorded.--David Hurwitz