Hard on the heels of their well-received account of Smetana’s Má Vlast, Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic return to Bohemian soil and soul for this exquisitely delivered coupling of Dvořák’s final three symphonies and a trio of his concert overtures.

Now in its sixth year, the Czech Phil-Bychkov alliance has grown into one of the most assured partnerships between a conductor and orchestra (newly anointed Gramophone Orchestra of the Year) to be found anywhere today. That both sing from the same hymn sheet in terms of attitude and approach helps, of course. But it is Bychkov’s chameleon-like ability to mould himself to and inhabit the character of each orchestra he leads, while never surrendering his own identity, that delivers performances always worth hearing and not least for their fidelity to the music.

He and the orchestra take a nuanced approach to the Seventh Symphony, conscious, no doubt, of Dvořák’s ambition for it to “stir the world”. Here it emerges from tremulous beginnings into a stridency ameliorated by bucolic poetry. The opening Allegro maestoso