The music of Josef Suk

[Barbirollians]

Just listening to Ripening and Praga on the RLPO/Pesek recording . These works are new to me - Ripening is very interesting and I think I will need to listen to it a deal more to get my ears round it .praga a terrific illustrative tone poem of great character.

Asrael escapes me - a work of just too much misery for me . I love much of his other work -a Summer's Tale, fantastic Scherzo in particular - what are your favourite Suk pieces and recordings ?

[jayne lee wilson]

Fascinating, Bb - I feel just the opposite!

Asrael is very close to my heart - it's always with me, always somewhere at the back of my mind - but those other large-scale orchestral works, especially those following Asrael (Summer's Tale, Ripening etc.) - despite many beautiful moments in Summer's Tale especially - never quite convince me that they're more than exhausted echoes of that great, tragic masterpiece, or perhaps nobly failed attempts to find a path forward...

His life is a very moving story of a talent which found its greatest expression under greatest duress, losing the two people he loved most. No work before or after Asrael has anything like its intensity or its level of musical inspiration. It's full of death, yes - but full of an immense melodic blossoming of love as well, and if I start to think of the 3rd and 4th movements I soon have to stop writing!

Like many listeners I was briefly intoxicated by the Fantastic Scherzo, but sometimes wished I could get THAT tune OUT of my head...

[Petrushka]

Fascinating, Bb - I feel just the opposite!

Asrael is very close to my heart - it's always with me, always somewhere at the back of my mind - but those other large-scale orchestral works, especially those following Asrael (Summer's Tale, Ripening etc.) - despite many beautiful moments in Summer's Tale especially - never quite convince me that they're more than exhausted echoes of that great, tragic masterpiece, or perhaps nobly failed attempts to find a path forward...

His life is a very moving story of a talent which found its greatest expression under greatest duress, losing the two people he loved most. No work before or after Asrael has anything like its intensity or its level of musical inspiration. It's full of death, yes - but full of an immense melodic blossoming of love as well, and if I start to think of the 3rd and 4th movements I soon have to stop writing!

Like many listeners I was briefly intoxicated by the Fantastic Scherzo, but sometimes wished I could get THAT tune OUT of my head...

Agree totally with this and put more eloquently than I possibly could.

[Pabmusic]

I have loved Suk's music for years. Pohada (Fairy Tale) was my first encounter, which I actually played in as a very green 23-year-old (timps - there's a great part in the slow movement). I expect I've collected recordings of everything he wrote, and many things still give me great pleasure.

No-one's mentioned the piano music, yet. Very little of it disappoints. About Mother is a touching - rather lighter - companion to Asrael, a suite about Otilka that includes How Mother Sang At Night To The Sick Child and About Mother's Heart, a representation of the arrhythmia that hastened her death. Things Lived and Dreamed is my favourite piano work (I think). The chamber works are worth exploring. There used to be a Biddulph 2-disc set that contained all the recordings of the Czech (or Bohemian) Quartet, including Suk's 1st quartet. Suk was the quartet's 2nd violin for 40 years or so.

As far as orchestral works go, I'd never want to be without Asrael, A Fairy Tale, the Fantastic Scherzo, the Serenade for strings, the Meditation for strings, the first symphony, Prague, the violin Fantasy, or Under the Apple Tree. As for the rest, despite their increasing 'toughness', the trio of huge tone poems (Summer's Tale, Ripening and Epilogue) is an overwhelming experience for the right mood.

There's a lot to explore from this quite unusual composer from a long line of ancestors whose names were all Josef Suk. And of course he was an Olympic silver medallist, too!

[Hornspieler]

His star outshone by Dvorak and Smetana, but some wonderful work, especially for me his string serenade.

I think (I hope that) his compositions might begin to achieve more recognition "in the fullness of time".

An inspiration to the Czech composers who have followed over the years.

HS

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

His star outshone by Dvorak and Smetana, but some wonderful work, especially for me his string serenade.

Oh, yes; I enjoy the String Serenade, too. (And he wasn't yet in his 20s when he wrote it IIRC!)

I find that the more I hear of Suk's Music, the more I get from it (Asrael is, as it should be, a very difficult work). I don't find this is true of Smetana.

[Pianorak]

No-one's mentioned the piano music, yet. Very little of it disappoints. About Mother is a touching -

Thanks for mentioning this - I'm afraid I don't know his music; haven't got any of the scores, but have just put on the only CD of his piano music I have: Piano Pieces Op. 7, Spring Op. 22a, Summer Impressions Op.22b and About Mother Op. 28. Radoslav Kvapil (piano).

[Pabmusic]

His star outshone by Dvorak and Smetana, but some wonderful work, especially for me his string serenade.

I think (I hope that) his compositions might begin to achieve more recognition "in the fullness of time".

An inspiration to the Czech composers who have followed over the years.

HS

Oh, yes; I enjoy the String Serenade, too. (And he wasn't yet in his 20s when he wrote it IIRC!)

I find that the more I hear of Suk's Music, the more I get from it (Asrael is, as it should be, a very difficult work). I don't find this is true of Smetana.

Yes, quite agree. There is a danger though in thinking of Suk, Dvorak and Smetana as somehow being contemporaries, when Suk was of a different generation (his dates were 1874-1935). His contemporaries were Rachmaninov, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Scriabin, Reger, Franz Schmidt, with Debussy and Richard Strauss being just a little older. Even Elgar and Mahler were much nearer to Suk's generation than Dvorak and Smetana were.

The large orchestral works show similarities of style with all these (even perhaps RVW very occasionally) - though I'd say mostly an amalgam of Strauss and Debussy, with a heavy Czech accent.

[makropulos]

As far as orchestral works go, I'd never want to be without Asrael, A Fairy Tale, the Fantastic Scherzo, the Serenade for strings, the Meditation for strings, the first symphony, Prague, the violin Fantasy, or Under the Apple Tree. As for the rest, despite their increasing 'toughness', the trio of huge tone poems (Summer's Tale, Ripening and Epilogue) is an overwhelming experience for the right mood.

I'm so glad you've mentioned Epilog, which I think is one of Suk's most extraordinary works, and Pesek's recording is excellent. Suk himself said it was a sort of continuation of Asrael, Summer Tale and Ripening, but I'm not sure I'd call it a "tone poem"? Suk subtitled it a "symphonic composition for orchestra with large and small mixed chorus and with soprano, baritone and bass solos". That's not exactly snappy, but it does give an idea of the vast forces involved. Incidentally, its original title was the rather splendid "Harvest of Love".

[Pabmusic]

I'm so glad you've mentioned Epilog, which I think is one of Suk's most extraordinary works, and Pesek's recording is excellent. Suk himself said it was a sort of continuation of Asrael, Summer Tale and Ripening, but I'm not sure I'd call it a "tone poem"? Suk subtitled it a "symphonic composition for orchestra with large and small mixed chorus and with soprano, baritone and bass solos". That's not exactly snappy, but it does give an idea of the vast forces involved. Incidentally, its original title was the rather splendid "Harvest of Love".

You're right. 'Tone poem' isn't quite right for any of these large works, except in the most general sense. I have a score of Epilog, which gives the long title you quote, the first two words of which are 'Symfonická skladba', which it translates as 'Symphonisches Werk' and 'Symphonic work'. There's not more to say, I suppose. It does bring into focus the trouble that titles can cause!

[teamsaint]

There's a new recording of Asrael just out, from the Essen Philharmonic/ Netopil.

http://www.mdt.co.uk/suk-asrael-essen-philharmonic-tomas-netopil-oehms.html

Also in the Naxos Library.

Should be interesting.

[cloughie]

Oh, yes; I enjoy the String Serenade, too. (And he wasn't yet in his 20s when he wrote it IIRC!)

I find that the more I hear of Suk's Music, the more I get from it (Asrael is, as it should be, a very difficult work). I don't find this is true of Smetana.

Suk's Serenade is a lovely 'sunny' work which seems somehow gives that feel good factor. Not the most available however - two of the Decca's best - LACO Marriner and StuttCO Munchinger out of the catalogue and the LCO Warren Green. Correction I see that the Munchinger is on a Eloquence CD.

[BBMmk2]

Josef Suk's orchestral music, I have warmed to quite a lot. I do rather like the Mackerras ones.

[mikealdren]

Don't forget his violin music, he was after all a violinist too. His Fantasy is worthwhile and his Four Pieces are staples of the repertoire.

The Scherzo Fantastique is a lovely work, tuneful folk music along the lines of Alfen's Swedish Rhapsody?!?

[Pabmusic]

...The Scherzo Fantastique is a lovely work, tuneful folk music along the lines of Alfen's Swedish Rhapsody?!?

Great piece, but not a note of folk music in it, unlike the Alfven, which is based on folk tunes. It's more accurately a rival to Dvorak's Scherzo Capriccioso.