SUK'S ASRAEL

There is an interesting article about Josef Suk's Asrael in the Gramophone June 2018 issue referring among others to SUPRAPHON both historical and recent recordings of this essential Suk's compose.

„Written at a time of profound grief and loss fot the composer, this large-scale symphony is not only technically intricate but also has an extraordinarily wide expressive range,“ says Richard Whitehouse.

Václav Talich, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1952) SU3830–2
Still the benchmark recording, it represents an aesthetic untenable in an era that sought immediacy and impact over lucidity and poise, with playing of similarly ‚old world‘ elegance and refinement.

Václav Neumann, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1983) SU3864–2
His reading is at its best in more combative sections of the outer movements, above all in the first's climatic onslaught…

Sir Charles Mackerras, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (2007) SU4043–2
The orchestra rekindles an excitement and personality found decades before. No other version quite conveys the stature of Asrael as a seminal 20th-century symphony.

Jiří Bělohlávek, BBC Symphony Orchestra (2008) SU4095–2
The orchestra gives its collective all and this version gets a strong recommendation…