A look at the great talent of Dvorak's pupils in an original selection of famous and less famous works The present compilation - a sequel to the 3CD set The Many Loves of Antonin Dvorak - is intended as a timely reminder of the wealth and sheer diversity of talented Czech composers who emerged from Dvorak's masterclass at the Prague Conservatoire during the 1890s and early 1900s. Dvorak, approaching fifty and at the height of his fame, had been persuaded to devote some of his time to teaching at the Conservatoire, thereby creating a lasting legacy, an influential "Dvorak School" of composers, several of whom went on to teach at the Conservatoire themselves, passing on the tradition to future generations. Naturally, the most room is given to Josef Suk, the pupil of Dvorak who left the most original legacy of compositions. A separate CD is devoted to Dvorak's lesser-known pupils: the talented melodist Oskar Nedbal won fame for his operettas, and Julius Fucik is celebrated for his witty marches, while the legendary violinist Jaroslav Kocian wrote music for his own instrument, and the Czechoslovak Legionnaire Rudolf Karel was an exemplary patriot. Also of interest are composers who are entirely forgotten apart from a single work of greater significance, like Adolf Piskacek, Vojtech Kuchynka, and Arnost Praus. A third CD belongs to the underappreciated master Vitezslav Novak, whose distinctive modernism builds upon Dvorak in an interesting manner. Once again, there is an excellent selection of music from the Supraphon catalogue with all of the most important names such as the violinist Josef Suk, the pianist Ivan Moravec, and the conductors Vaclav Talich, Karel sejna, and Libor Pesek. Other outstanding performers on this compilation include Igor Ardashev, Jan Panenka, Emil Leichner, Josef Vlach, Josef Veselka, Karla sroubek, Vaclav Snitil, Richard Novak, Beno Blachut, Ivan Kusnjer, and many others. The English music journalist Patrick Lambert, an important expert on Czech music with deep knowledge of the Supraphon catalogue, selected the music and wrote the insightful text in the booklet.

Charles Mackerras has shown himself one of the finest Janacek conductors. His readings convey a sense of burning belief in and love of Janacek's music; they are well prepared; yet it is as if the strangeness and beauty of the music were being revealed for the first time. The engineers have excelled themselves, matching this bold approach with an equally bold recording... In the four Preludes the performances are excellently dramatic, and most moving. (Gramophone)