Josef Suk - BBC Symphony Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek - A Summer's Tale / Prague (2012) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Josef Suk - BBC Symphony Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek - A Summer's Tale / Prague (2012) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Josef Suk - A Summer's Tale / Prague
BBC Symphony Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 325 MB | Full Artwork: 111 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Chandos # CHSA 5109 | Country/Year: UK 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Late Romantic, Early 20th Century

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Josef Suk - BBC Symphony Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek - A Summer's Tale / Prague (2012) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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In my review of the excellent Chandos disc of Josef Suk's orchestral music Suk: Ripening, Symphony in E major - Belohlavek in September 2010 I expressed the hope that there would be a follow-up disc – well here it is. Once again the performers are the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek - now at the end of his tenure as the orchestra's chief conductor - and like the earlier release this new one has been recorded in the spacious acoustic of Watford Colosseum in January this year by the capable team of Brian Pidgeon (producer) and Ralph Couzens (sound engineer).

The longer of the two works on this SACD is the symphonic poem 'A Summer's Tale' (1907-1909). It succeeded the powerful 'Asrael' Symphony, a work that encapsulated the composer's outpouring of grief following the tragic deaths of Dvorak (his father-in-law) and his wife Otilka within three months of each other. In this five-movement work the composer turns to nature for consolation and hope, though echoes of the 'death motive' from the 'Asrael Symphony' appear both in the opening movement 'Voices of Light and Consolation' and the phantasmagorical scherzo 'In the Power of Phantoms'.

On disc a work such as this, scored for a large late-romantic orchestra that here includes triple woodwind, six horns, three trumpets and percussion and organ part, demands the exceptional sound quality that SACD can deliver. Thanks to Belohlavek's careful balancing of the orchestra and the excellent Chandos recording the full impact of the huge climaxes is never diminished. However, Suk also uses his forces with delicate subtlety in, for example, the work's third movement 'Intermezzo: Blind Musicians.' The scoring here is for just two harps, two cors anglais, solo violin solo viola and strings and in Belohlavek's hands the music achieves a magical transparency and haunting atmosphere in the ample Watford venue.

The symphonic poem 'Prague' depicts the city through its history in both peaceful and troubled times using two main themes. The emphatic first theme is based on the melody of the Hussite chorale 'Ye warriors of God' while the beautiful second is taken from the incidental music that Suk wrote for Zeyer's play 'Radúz and Mahulena'. 'Prague' has had a number of fine recordings including two by Libor Pešek. The first from 1982 was with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (23'23”) and the second, ten years later, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (25'22”). The earlier performance is thrillingly impetuous, the latter much less so, though it has richer sound and an undeniable grandeur. This new Belohlavek version (24'52”) gives us the best of both worlds by combining nobility of utterance and a passionate advocacy of this stirring music in glorious 5.0 multi-channel sound.
The committed playing of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in both works exemplifies their respect both for Belohlavek as arguably the finest interpreter of Czech music alive today and their enthusiasm for the composer's regrettably still neglected output.

This SACD is a mandatory purchase for lovers of Suk's opulent scores and audiophiles alike.

Copyright © 2012 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net

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Josef Suk - BBC Symphony Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek - A Summer's Tale / Prague (2012) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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We are lucky indeed that Josef Suk's music continues to attract interest at concerts and in recordings, especially with the advocacy of conductors like Pesek and Belohlavek. This new Chandos album offers two substantial tone poems, which are slightly confusingly not placed on the disc in their order of composition ('Prague', 1904; 'A Summer's Tale', 1907-9, whereas in the very good insert notes, they are discussed with 'Prague' first. Once again the BBC Philharmonic are in tremendous form and play with great enthusiasm, the precision of their playing suggests a good deal of rehearsal was involved.

Suk's tone poems were for a large late Romantic orchestra, with triple woodwind (including the bass clarinet and contra-bassoon), 6 horns, 3 trumpets, all the heavy brass, varied percussion and two harps. Suk's orchestration is complex and often extremely virtuosic, with multiple layers and dense scoring, but thanks to excellent internal balancing by Belohlavek and a stunning recording by Chandos, the textures sound open and detailed.

After exorcising the deeply personal imprint of two close family bereavements in his 'Asrael' Symphony (1905-6), Suk continued with what he regarded as a cycle of these tone poems, which included 'Asrael'. Moving on, he began 'A Summer's Tale' as a sort of catharsis, engaging himself in healing Nature, its moods and their effect on him. The piece lasts over 54' and has five sections. The first, 'Voices of Life and Consolation', deals with the imposing majesty of Nature's magic and the excitement and satisfaction which humans experience when exposed to the wild.

Next comes 'Midday', a Hymn to the Sun, where the Summer heat-haze quivers and shimmers with saturated string and brass tone. 'Intermezzo' most unusually deals with a pair of blind musicians which Suk encountered in a lane one day; they cannot see the sun and he has compassion for this. But their tune is rather boring and pedantic, despite being presented by 2 cors anglais (who are credited separately in the booklet), 2 harps, solo violin, solo viola and a small string ensemble. This whole piece brought one of the incidents of Strauss' Don Quixote to mind, and the scoring is delectable.

In the 'Power of Phantoms', a stormy scherzo, Suk explores the underworld of Nature, with elf-like creatures up to no good in the forest, frolicking with great brilliance, of tricking, menace and not a little irony. The magical creatures finally take their leave quietly, leading neatly into 'Night', portrayed with lovely resinous deep bass sounds and a rich string threnody which is deeply affecting. Night brings the heart of Romanticism, which wanes like the moon in a languorous leave-taking.

'Prague' is one of a number of tone poems about cities in musical literature, and some of its attributes will be familiar from pieces by other Bohemian composers anxious to outline their country's history in music. It has four sections, ranging from the stirring of the city to a magnificent final jubilation. A Hussite chorale supplies one important motif, and another is a love melody from one of Suk's incidental music sets, which was a favourite of his wife, Otilka (his father in law Dvorak's oldest daughter). It was the death of Dvorak and Otilke in 1904 that so devastated Suk, and he began the 'Prague' tone poem as a way of keeping himself busy. At the end, the Watford Colosseum Compton organ weighs heavily in, together with bells, in a thrilling and joyful conclusion, with the brass excelling themselves; if an audience had been present I am sure they would all have arisen in full applause.

Sonically, this is one of Ralph Couzens' "Signature" recordings. Its 5.0 version is a stunning realisation of the orchestra within the spacious Colosseum, where the orchestral seating plan is as vividly conveyed as I have ever heard. The depth of perspective is just right, with ample space for the full output of the huge brass output but a sensation of immediacy which carries detailing of the marvellous scores. In fact, this is a demonstration-worthy recording without a doubt. I can imagine the last track of 'Prague' being used to show off equipment by many dealers. This is one of those recordings where you can really turn up the volume, and the sound just opens up more, without a trace of glare or fatigue. The stereo track, although very good in itself, is flat compared to the 5.0, showing once more the value of multichannel.

Perhaps Pesek's versions of these same pieces might be said to have a tauter control of the works' structure and possibly have more drama. That is a matter of opinion. But what Pesek's discs don't have is this outstanding quality recording from Chandos. If you haven't already made the acquaintance of these two excellent Romantic tone poems, this would the disc to choose; it is bound to give great pleasure. Highly recommended.

Copyright © 2012 John Miller and SA-CD.net

Regarding British performances of music from beyond these shores, Jiří Bělohlávek is to Czech repertoire what John Wilson is to Broadway: both have imported unprecedented levels of musical authenticity, in Bělohlávek’s case climaxing in his superb live Martinů symphony cycle (also for Chandos) and this fine coupling of works by Josef Suk. The added advantage here is the exceptional acoustic of the Watford Colosseum, potentially a godsend but only when a crack production team knows how to exploit its strongest qualities.

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 (woodwinds 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. Praga does indeed call on the famous Hussite theme that Smetana ruggedly manipulates in ‘Tábor’ and the effect achieved by Suk is similarly humbling. Bělohlávek’s performance presents a more integrated tone-canvas than does Libor Pešek with the Czech Philharmonic for Supraphon, where the brass are more strident, though the Czech woodwinds are inimitably individual.

Pešek’s coupling, like Bělohlávek’s, is the sizeable, at times Scriabinesque A Summer’s Tale, a slightly later piece that calls on those same qualities of interpretation – sensitive balancing, an appreciation of textual variety, a keen appreciation of shifting perspectives and an ear for musical line. As with Praga, this richly scored and often exciting early-20th-century score is infused with local flavouring, at times disquieting (startling premonitions of Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony at 2'52" into the second movement, ‘Midday’), and Bělohlávek holds the tension in both pieces from the first bar to the last. Wonderful!

Rob Cowan ~ Grammophone

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Josef Suk - BBC Symphony Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek - A Summer's Tale / Prague (2012) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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