Janáček : Chamber Music • Orchestral Works (2004) 5xCD BOX-SET | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This may not need to be the only Janácek set on the shelf, but it is surely a good place to start a Janácek collection. Outside of the operas, all Janácek's core works are here as well as a few oddballs. But for the core works, the performances in this set are as good or better than any other non-Czech performance. Paul Crossley's performances of the piano works are startlingly expressionistic and completely convincing. The Gabrieli String Quartet's performances of the string quartets are stunningly erotic and absolutely persuasive. And, of course, Charles Mackerras and the Vienna Philharmonic's performances of the Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba are staggeringly dramatic and utterly compelling. Even in the oddball works like the Nursery Rhymes and Youth, the predominantly English performers are credible enough. Neville Marriner's recording of the Suite for strings is in the same ineffable league as Mackerras and only Riccardo Chailly's Glagolic Mass is distinctly substandard. While a truly representative Janácek shelf would include at least four of the operas, plus recordings of the core works by Czech performers, this Decca set is well worth hearing. With recordings as old as 1970 and as recent as 1997, Decca's sound is uniformly clear and warm. James Leonard      All Tracks & Credits :