The chamber orchestra - or string orchestra - has been rather forgotten ever since the symphony orchestra reached its standard size (from Beethoven at the latest). It took on, however, new life at the start of the twentieth century, partly as a reaction to the gigantic orchestras of the post-romantics (Mahler and Strauss for example), partly for economic and financial reasons following World War I. The three works grouped on this CD were written in serenade form, no doubt one of the most popular of forms and one of the most typical for string orchestra music. Within the formal framework of a large-scale symphony, albeit simplified and concise, the number and order of the movements retains a certain freedom in each of these three works composed in 1875 (Dvorak), 1880 (Tchaikovsky) and 1892 (Elgar). The brilliant "Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie", conducted by Georges Octors, is to be found here in one of its favourite repertories!