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New London Chamber Choir, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Jiří Bělohlávek - Suk: The Ripening & Symphony No. 1 (2010) [Hi-Res]

New London Chamber Choir, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Jiří Bělohlávek - Suk: The Ripening & Symphony No. 1 (2010) [Hi-Res]
  • Title: Suk: The Ripening & Symphony No. 1
  • Year Of Release: 2010/2022
  • Label: Chandos
  • Genre: Classical
  • Quality: flac lossless (tracks) / flac 24bits - 96.0kHz +Booklet
  • Total Time: 01:18:30
  • Total Size: 329 mb / 1.43 gb
  • WebSite:
Tracklist

01. The Ripening, Op. 34: I. Adagio, quasi Andante
02. The Ripening, Op. 34: II. Poco allegro inquieto e poco rubato
03. The Ripening, Op. 34: III. Adagio
04. The Ripening, Op. 34: IV. Più tranquillo
05. The Ripening, Op. 34: V. Allegro. L'istesso tempo
06. The Ripening, Op. 34: VI. A tempo. Tempo di Fuga
07. The Ripening, Op. 34: VII. Adagio e sempre tranquillo
08. Symphony No. 1, Op. 14: I. Allegro, ma non troppo
09. Symphony No. 1, Op. 14: II. Adagio
10. Symphony No. 1, Op. 14: III. Allegro vivace
11. Symphony No. 1, Op. 14: IV. Allegro

The Czech maestro Jirí Belohlávek performs works by his countryman Josef Suk, conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with whom he is their Chief Conductor.

As a composer, Josef Suk followed in the tradition of Smetana and Dvorák, the latter of whom was not only his professor at the Prague Conservatory, but also became his father-in-law – Suk married Dvorák’s oldest surviving daughter, Otilie, in 1898, and the death of Dvorák in 1904 and ‘Otilka’ a year later resulted in the composition of one of the composer’s most powerful and deeply felt works, the Asrael Symphony – also recorded by Belohlávek (CHAN 9640).

Like Novák – another key Dvorák pupil – Suk fully embraced his national background, composing in a late romantic style imbued with his individual approach to impressionism and native folk culture. Following the success of his Serenade in E flat, Suk wished to take up the challenge of writing a symphony, influenced as he was by the contributions to the genre of his own teacher, and of Brahms. Suk’s First Symphony was actually begun in London in 1897 and completed two years later. This new CD provides an excellent opportunity to hear the rarely recorded early work, with its fresh melodic appeal and inventive orchestration.

Ripening is one of the composer’s masterpieces, a highly colourful and superbly sustained symphonic poem, brilliantly orchestrated, with a chorus making its wordless contribution at the work’s late, emotional highpoint. Suk said of Ripening: ‘I worked on this composition for almost five years. In its very cohesive musical form you will find all degrees of human emotions. In this piece I immerse myself once more into the joys and tragic shadows of life but towards the end I emphasise, in the large fugue, that work is the liberator. After a large and passionate build-up of tension and excitement, towards the end a deep calm arrives in which, however, shimmers a hymn of affirmation and life.’

"Composed in the late 1890s, the E major Symphony already shows much promise: a persuasive handling of motifs, captivating lyricism (notably the second theme of the first movement, deftly transformed into the opening melody of the second) and a penchant for turns toward melancholy. The compositional influences are various: Dvorák is there in the rhythmic drive and the lively accompaniment to melodies; there is also a hint of Suk’s friend, Sibelius, in some of the melodic writing in the second movement, but the wide ranging chord changes of the first movement and powerful cumulative build toward its end suggests more than a passing interest in Bruckner. That said, it is far more than an apprentice work. Once again, Belohlávek and his players produce an eloquent, infectious and, above all, idiomatic performance." (Jan Smaczny, BBC Music)

New London Chamber Choir
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jiri Belohlavek, conductor




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