Amsterdam Sinfonietta has combined a romantic masterpiece of the string orchestra repertoire with two wild compositions from the inter-war period. Dvorák, Haas, and Schulhoff hardly make a conventional mixture, but all three of these composers had their roots in a region which was known for many centuries as “Bohemia.” One can hear this common ground in the rhythmic diversity, the influence of folk music, and the melodic inventiveness that characterizes their music.

During his short life Erwin Schulhoff absorbed a wide range of musical styles. The jazz-inspired Partita includes witty takes on the tango, foxtrot and shimmy. Further synthesis comes in the Suite No 3, written for the left hand alone, which adapts folk and jazz influences in a bracingly novel way, while the Variations and Fugue reveals indebtedness to Debussy, with whom Schulhoff studied.

Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff assimilated the influence of jazz with genuinely distinctive results. The Fünf Pittoresken absorb both Dada and Scott Joplin whilst more classicist influences, such as Ravel, suffuse the Second Piano Sonata. Esquisses de Jazz (1927) is perhaps his most outstanding jazz-influenced piece a perfect synthesis of dance rhythms, wit and irony.

By now, fans of this mezzo probably have realized that she could sing the telephone directory and make it sound both beautiful and meaningful. This CD is made up of music by Respighi, Ravel, Britten, Schulhoff and Shostakovich: in other words, songs in five languages from five countries. Unlike most song recital CDs, variety is also supplied by the accompaniments. The Ravel songs are backed up by flute, cello and piano, while the Schulhoff selections feature violin and piano, the Shostakovich and Britten are for piano alone, and the Respighi includes a string quartet. The whole CD is fascinating, but the lengthy Respighi cantata "Il tramonto" ("The Sunset," to a poem by Shelly) is a sensational centerpiece: just lovely, with hints of Straussian and Wagnerian harmonies.