Fairy Tale / Fantasy in G Min / Fantastic Scherzo

Great selection of musical pieces. Sound quality is muffled and distant.

This CD is full of delightful themes and beauty. I am particularly enamored of the Fantastic Scherzo, but the Fantasy and the Fairy Tales are also delightful. Great melodies, easy to listen to, and while the themes of the first two pieces probably won't stay with you, I believe you will have heard and certainly will remember the major theme of the Scherzo. Fine composing. The Buffalo Phil under Joanne Falletta is/has become a truly major orchestra. Very good recording all through.

Suk's early orchestral pieces are often overlooked but are bright and uplifting music. This Cd is fine, but the Buffalo players are not quite in accord with the "Czechish" and folk nature of the music, especially in the wonderful Scherzo. I would suggest the Mackerras (or Pesek's) version, though M's lacks this desirable line up of works.

I was happy to find the recording that has one of my favorite pieces featured as part of it. The site was recommended to me by a retailer where I initially went to purchase the recording.

I was only familiar with the Fantastic Scherzo, but I've grown to love the Fantasy in G Minor and the Fairy Tale as well. Very evocative music.

Great!

Excellent music but relatively unknown! Good discovery!

I did not have the oppurtuinty to listen to the music as the disc was a blank!!.

Josef Suk (1874 - 1935) was one of those composers whom I knew better by name and by reputation than through his music. I also knew some biographical details- that he was a Czech, that he was the pupil and son-in-law of the great Antonín Dvořák, that his music was initially mostly cheerful but that it became much more sombre in tone after the deaths, within about a year of one another, of his father-in-law and his young wife Otilie. Until recently, however, I had not had much chance to hear much of that music.This CD contains three of Suk's orchestral compositions, all taken from the early part of his career. I originally bought it for the Fantastic Scherzo (Opus 25), having been greatly impressed by that piece when I recently heard it on the radio. The term "scherzo" often refers to a movement taken from a larger work, often the third movement of a symphony; Henry Litolff's famous Scherzo, for example, is a movement from his Concerto Symphonique No. 4. Suk's piece, however, is a complete work in its own right, rather longer and more complex in structure than the normal symphonic scherzo. It falls into three sections, the central one being a lyrical pastoral interlude. The opening and closing sections are both dominated by the same once-in-a-lifetime theme, lilting and haunting, a theme which sounds like a folk-song even if it is not in fact one. (Unlike Dvořák, Suk did not make much use of actual folk melodies in his compositions, although his music is undoubtedly rooted in Czech folk tradition.Of the other two works on this disc, the Fantasy in G minor for violin and orchestra (Opus 24) undoubtedly contains some beautiful passages, but is perhaps too over-extended and unstructured for my taste. The third piece "Fairy Tale" (Opus 16, also sometimes known by its Czech title "Pohadka") was a revelation. In form it is reminiscent of a programme symphony, albeit one with the scherzo preceding rather than following the slow movement, but Suk did not use this description. It is based upon incidental music he had earlier written for a play recounting the tale of Radúz and Mahulena, a traditional Czech legend; each of the four movements depicts an episode in the story. The deeply romantic opening movement, portraying the love of the young couple, is said to be an expression of Suk's own feelings for Otilie. The second, very brief, sparkling and dance-like, is again reminiscent of folk music. The melancholy third, entitled "Funeral Music", reminded me of Sibelius's "The Swan of Tuonela", composed only a few years before "Fairy Tale", whereas the rhapsodic final movement depicts the final union of the two lovers.The music on this disc is evidence that Suk was able to compose in a lyrical, poetic manner reminiscent of the style of his illustrious teacher and father-in-law Dvořák, and suggests to me that she should be better known than he currently is. I certainly hope to be able to explore more of his music in future.

Mixed bag

Suk is not well known, and his concert pieces don't get played often. This is a pity, as this late Romantic music has real substance, and repays listening. In particular, the Fantastic Scherzo has a recurring theme that gets inside your head. Very good playing from the Buffalo Philharmonic, and clear recording in an acoustic that enhances the sound. Recommended.

J'ai trouvé ce disque par hasard dans le rayon "Musique" du centre Leclerc. Je suis vraiment satisfait de cette découverte ! J'ai beaucoup de plaisir à écouter ces œuvres de ce compositeur injustement peu célèbre. C'est, en plus, fort bien dirigé et la qualité de l'enregistrement est parfaite. Je vous recommande d'écouter ce disque..

いたって普通ですが、「普通の演奏」でこのお値段はありがたいです。特にあまり音源が無いので、音源欲しい人向けでしょうか。