Michael Jameson finds a real bargain among three new recordings of his chamber music

"Pour a glass of a cold, dry Chardonnay, light a good cigar (optional), sit back, and let yourself be swept away by 74 minutes of sheer pleasure..."

For the last couple of years we have mentioned repeatedly the crisis of the National Philharmonics in connection with the collapse of the paternalist state’s cultural monolith. But now that they have produced three (!) concert events in one day at the Academy of Music, we have to admit that the biggest concert orchestra of our country has risen from the dead, revived and rediscovered itself.

The Dohnányi Sonata is a little like some of the turn-of-the-century English ones: so hectic and dramatic at times that it requires poise as well as virtuosity or it tends to tire the ear. Reger also comes to mind, particularly in the Scherzo.