Suk: Prague & A Summer's Tale BBC Symphony Orchestra & Jiri Belohlavek

• Josef Suk (1874 - 1935): A Summer's Tale, Op. 29:
• 1 Suk: A Summer's Tale, Op. 29: I. Voices of Life and Consolation 15:09
• 2 Suk: A Summer's Tale, Op. 29: II. Midday 06:55
• 3 Suk: A Summer's Tale, Op. 29: III. Intermezzo. Blind Musicians 05:39
• 4 Suk: A Summer's Tale, Op. 29: IV. In the Power of Phantoms 11:01
• 5 Suk: A Summer's Tale, Op. 29: V. Night 15:51
• Prague, Op. 26:
• 6 Suk: Prague, Op. 26: I. Andante maestoso 09:31
• 7 Suk: Prague, Op. 26: II. Allegro 06:22
• 8 Suk: Prague, Op. 26: III. Adagio 04:35
• 9 Suk: Prague, Op. 26: IV. Animato, con fuoco 04:20
• Total Runtime 01:19:23

Info for Suk: Prague & A Summer's Tale

Two symphonic poems by Suk are performed here by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jirí Belohlávek, who also brought us the highly acclaimed recording of the composer’s First Symphony and Ripening, which was Disc of the Month in the magazine BBC Music.

A Summer’s Tale is a highly personal work, rich and imaginative, not to mention brilliantly orchestrated in late romantic style. The work followed the heartfelt and sorrowful outpouring of the Asrael Symphony of 1905 – 06, composed in memory of his father-in-law, Antonín Dvorák, and wife, Otilka.

The symphonic poem Prague is likewise strongly personal and atmospheric, speaking of the history and mystery of Suk’s home city, its troubles and its triumphs. The opening section conjures up a picture of the early morning mists rising from the Vltava, the river flowing through the city. As the mists begin to lift, the ancient fortress of Vyšehrad emerges high above on its rock. Gradually the mists disperse and Prague appears in all its glory in the sunlight. The mood then darkens, now speaking of past troubled times; but the work ends on a jubilant note, in a triumphant blaze of glory.

“...Both scores convey the essence of Suk’s orchestral style, his wide range of musical moods, the subtlety of his palette, his expert use of solo instruments (woodwind especially), his distinctive harmonic language and his ability to chart powerful climaxes without resorting to bombast. In lesser hands the close of Praga can sound like a filmic recollection of Má vlast’s finale, but not here, where the cumulative impact of the piece (complete with thundering organ) is immense this [A Summer’s Tale} richly scored and often exciting early-20th-century score is infused with local flavouring at times disquieting and Belohlávek holds the tension in both pieces from the first bar to the last. Wonderful!” (Rob Cowan, Gramophone)

"The performance is magnificent, Jirí Belohlávek at-one with the music and inspiring the BBC Symphony Orchestra to shape and shade the score’s every nook and cranny in the most persuasive way In both works the recorded sound, as opulent as it is lucid as it is dynamic, is the perfect complement.” (Colin Anderson, theclassicalsource.com)

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jirí Belohlávek, conductor

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