Jakub Hrůša considers himself literally blessed to experience, love and transmit Dvořák’s work. The Czech conductor tells us so himself in his ecstatic booklet-notes, gently nudging us to expect great things of his third Dvořák disc with the Prague Philharmonia. And why wouldn’t we? His first two in the series, featuring the Cello Concerto and the overtures, demonstrate a natural flair and passion for his countryman’s music. So why does this recording feel comparatively lacklustre?

Possibly because Hrůša, despite his protestations to the contrary, doesn’t seem to muster enough enthusiasm for these relative curiosities. And so he doesn’t quite manage to elevate Dvořák’s rather foursquare melodies in the Symphonic Variations or take full advantage of opportunities for contrast. The opening has mystery but not in the way of, say, Kertész’s reading with the London Symphony Orchestra. The finale is lively but remains earthbound. What’s more frustrating is that both works’ key features – their rhythmic vigour and vibrant orchestration – don’t get a fair shout.

Not that you can quite blame the performers: the reverberation on the recording bleaches out the orchestral colours and adds to the sense of congestion at the climaxes. But Hrůša doesn’t help matters with an approach that, particularly in the Slavonic Rhapsodies, prioritises blending over clarity.

More’s the pity, because Hrůša has the measure of both works’ charm, their geniality, their flow. In both he segues naturally between boisterousness and melancholy yearning. There is a warm glow to his sound, a pride in the music’s lyricism that non-Czechs would find hard to match. And the result does have spirit; it just needs much more.