The Czech composer Josef Suk (1874-1935) wrote his String Serenade in E Flat, op. 6 at age eighteen, urged by his teacher Antonín Dvořák to “write something joyful”, as Suk was prone to melancholy and predisposed to minor keys. It’s a sunny and substantial work. Tchaikovsky’s famous Serenade in C, op. 48 was written at the same time as his even more famous 1812 overture. String Orchestra Gems pairs the works of these two Slavic composers, whose common bond is Dvořák (he being a colleague and supporter of Tchaikovsky as well), thus offering a fresh look at the musical thinking of both composers.