Suk: Asrael Symphony, Op. 27

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Ashkenazy stresses the lyricism as well as the anguish of Suk's score; this is a performance of great dignity and nobility, with fine attention to detail, especially in the often complex woodwind... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2009, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 2nd Feb 2009
Catalogue No: ODE1132-5
Label: Ondine
Length: 61 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

May 2009

Editor's Choice

Suk: Symphony No. 2, Op. 27 "Asrael"

Work length1:01:27

$15.00

$19.30

$26.25

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Recorded: April 2008
Recording Venue: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland

I. Andante sostenuto

Track length16:13

$4.00

$5.15

$7.00

II. Andante

Track length8:00

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

III. Vivace

Track length12:28

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

IV. Adagio

Track length10:48

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

V. Adagio e mesto

Track length13:58

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

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"I was saved by music," wrote Czech composer Josef Suk about his 'Asrael' Symphony, a work born out of tragedy and the loss of his teacher Antonín Dvorák in 1904. While composing the first part of a funeral symphony named after the biblical angel of death, who leads souls of deceased to the land of eternal blissfulness, Suk also lost his wife, and Dvorák's favourite daughter, Otilie. Suk's greatest work remains a masterpiece of the late-Romantic repertoire conducted in a masterful and intense performance, by Vladimir Askenazy. First SACD of this repertoire.

Reviews

July 2009

Ashkenazy stresses the lyricism as well as the anguish of Suk's score; this is a performance of great dignity and nobility, with fine attention to detail, especially in the often complex woodwind writing. …the recording sound is outstanding: the effect of the first movement's coda, for instance, with its keening violins, minatory brass fanfares and remorseless bass drum beats, is overwhelming.

28th Jan 2009

If Asrael is Suk’s masterpiece, then here’s a recording to match it

2010

As Rafael Kubelík's uniquely powerful (and idiomatic) Bavarian Radio tape (see below) is currently elusive, there's certainly room for Ashkenazy's marginally fleeter, cleaner, texturally airier conception. He holds together the sometimes disjunct finale with skill, avoiding any hint of lassitude or bombast; the understated optimism and luminosity of the coda is most moving.
This hybrid SACD, a live recording from which applause has been excised, comes with helpful booklet-notes by Jan Smaczny. Helsinki's Finlandia Hall may look better than it sounds but its acoustic presents no problems to this production team.

May 2009

As Rafael Kubelík's uniquely powerful (and idiomatic) Bavarian Radio tape… currently elusive, there's certainly room for Ashkenazy's marginally fleeter, cleaner, texturally airier conception. He holds together the sometimes disjunct finale with skill, avoiding any hint of lassitude or bombast; the understated optimism and luminosity of the coda I found most moving.

22 Feb 2009

Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Helsinki orchestra give a searing account of this neglected masterpiece

8th March 2009

Ashkenazy and the Helsinki Philharmonic find their way through this sprawling landscape of grief with an impressive sensitivity but it's a long, painful journey to the calm of the C major resolution.

7th February 2009

Finished in 1906, Josef Suk's symphony Asrael is one of the world's more neglected masterpieces. It's tumultuous, high-protein music, rich in grief yet life-enhancing, inspired by two deaths in the composer's family: first his father-in-law, Dvorák, then his wife. Ashkenazy's special feeling for Central European repertoire is much in evidence, and there's no Scandinavian cold about the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

Suk: Asrael Symphony, Op. 27

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