Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B minor; Bruch: Kol Nidrei; Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B minor; Bruch: Kol Nidrei; Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme. Janos Starker, cello; Antal Dorati, London Symphony Orchestra. Mercury SACD 475 6608.

I've always thought of Starker's interpretation of Dvorak's Cello Concerto as typically masculine. Certainly, other men have essayed the work with equal poise and distinction from Wallfisch (Chandos) to Rostropovich (DG) to Ma (Sony), but none of them seem to me to convey the same strength, the same virile character. Starker's is a remarkable performance.

The downside, however, is that Starker gives up something in warmth and humanity--sensitivity, if you will. He plays the piece with a clinical precision that rather overshadows the work's romanticism, especially in the slow movement. Still, for the outright vigor of the piece, I have always favored Starker above all else.

But maybe I'm just comparing sound quality here. For years I owned the 1962 Mercury recording; then in the seventies I bought it on a special Japanese audiophile LP; and in the early nineties I welcomed the Mercury Living Presence CD reissue, remastered by the original producer, Wilma Cozart. This SACD hybrid preserves Cozart's CD mix (a new transfer of the old master) and adds a new three-channel master as well. In two-channel stereo it is as sharply delineated as ever, perhaps even clearer in this new pressing, with a wide, well-balanced stereo spread, and a cello that appears to be in the very room with the listener.

No other recording of the work sounds as natural or as impressive as this one. Couple the Cello Concerto with a lovely reading of Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei and a less-interesting but still well recorded version of Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, and you get a splendid album. If you don't already own the CD, this new SACD is must buy.