This is the ninth recording of Josef Suk's second symphony in C minor, the "Asrael" Symphony, the angel of death symphony, Suk's symphonic masterpiece and his heart-wrenching requiem for his beloved young wife Otilka. The first and still the best was Vaclav Talich's 1952 recording, a performance so close to the tragic spirit to the work as to be nearly indistinguishable for it. Over the years, there have been great recordings -- Kubelik's, Pesek's, and Belohlávek's -- mediocre recordings -- Neumann's and Valek's -- and ...
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This is the ninth recording of Josef Suk's second symphony in C minor, the "Asrael" Symphony, the angel of death symphony, Suk's symphonic masterpiece and his heart-wrenching requiem for his beloved young wife Otilka. The first and still the best was Vaclav Talich's 1952 recording, a performance so close to the tragic spirit to the work as to be nearly indistinguishable for it. Over the years, there have been great recordings -- Kubelik's, Pesek's, and Belohlávek's -- mediocre recordings -- Neumann's and Valek's -- and awful recordings -- Svetlanov's and Schneiderman's -- but there have been none that have challenged the baleful magnificence of Talich's.Nor does Kirill Petrenko's 2002 recording of the "Asrael" with the Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin challenge Talich's. But it does match Kubelik's, Pesek's, and Belohlávek's for overwhelming emotional power and unrelenting musical integrity, and that's saying something. Petrenko's "Asrael" is passionate and reckless and bitter and despairing and...
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