Suk: Early Recordings - Dvořák, Suk, Janáček, Martinů, Brahms, Schubert, Debussy, Franck, Mozart

Brahms, Johannes, Debussy, Claude, Dvorak, Antonin, Grieg, Edvard, Honegger, Arthur, Janacek, Leos, Kodaly, Zoltan, Martinu, Bohuslav, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, Schubert, Franz, Schumann, Robert, Smetana, Bedrich, Suk, Josef

Hála, Josef, Holeček, Alfred, Panenka, Jan, Suk, Josef

SU 4075-2

On the morning on 7 July 2011 the agencies brought the sad news that one of the legends of 20th century music had passed away. Josef Suk ranks among the most accomplished violinists of the epoch. When he launched his artistic career, he was gifted with unquestionable talent but also felt the obligation to meet the enormous general expectations (he was, after all, the grandson of the composer Josef Suk and great grandson of the maestro Antonin Dvořak!).

Back in the mid-1950s he won international recognition – and began recording too. The presented recordings, most of them on CD for the very first time, date from 1956-1967 and introduce Josef Suk as a mature artist with a distinct interpretational approach and a beautiful, characteristic tone. Within a short time, he recorded, primarily with pianists (Holeček, Panenka, Hala), a remarkably extensive repertoire, ranging from pieces by his beloved Dvořak and Suk (to whom he would repeatedly return) to sonatas by Debussy and Janaček (for which he received a Grand Prix du Disque de l’Academie Charles Cros), as well as duos by Kodaly and Honegger with the cellist Andre Navarra.

These carefully remastered recordings serve as a historical document and, above all, bear witness to the art of a superlative young musician whose name would later on be spoken of in the same breath as other legends. Josef Suk’s early recordings – previously unreleased and bearing witness to the legendary 20th-century violinist’s mastery.

Works:

• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
• Brahms: Waltz, Op. 39 No. 15 in A flat major
• Debussy: La plus que lente
• Debussy: Suite bergamasque: Clair de lune
• Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor
• Dvořák: Romantic Pieces (4) for Violin & Piano, Op. 75
• Dvořák: Sonatina for violin and piano in G major, Op. 100
• Dvořák: Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 57 (B 106)
• Franck, C: Violin Sonata in A major
• Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45
• Honegger: Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H 80
• Janáček: Violin Sonata
• Jezek: Violin Sonata
• Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7
• Martinů: Duo for Violin and Cello No. 1, H. 157
• Mozart: Duo for violin and viola in B flat major, K424
• Poulenc: Violin Sonata, FP 119
• Respighi: Violin Sonata in B minor
• Schubert: Grand Duo for Violin and Piano in A Major, D574
• Schubert: Sonata (Sonatina) for violin & piano in D major, D384 (Op. posth. 137 No. 1)
• Schumann: Abendlied (No. 12 from Klavierstücke für kleine und große Kinder, Op. 85)
• Smetana: From the Homeland - two duos for violin and piano
• Suk: Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 17

CD x 6

Supraphon

17.01.2012

99925407520