Customer Reviews

Suk: The Tale of a Winter's Evening; The Ripening

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Suk's "Tale of a Winter's Evening" is rarely recorded, and although it is an early work, still having not shaken off the overt influence of Dvorak and Fibich, it is an interesting attempt to set Shakespeare's plot to music. The only other version I know is the one conducted by Mogrelia with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra on Naxos. A recent re-listening confirmed that this is a fine recording, and Mogrelia conducts with more insight and finesse than Petrenko, but the recording is not up to the standards of CPO's. It is a pity that Mackerras did not record this when he recorded the finest "Summer's Tale" for Decca (perhaps it's in the vaults). You may consider Petrenko's conducting lively or vigorous, but in my opinion, it sounds somewhat rushed.

As for "The Ripening," I'm afraid that Petrenko is upstaged by Belohlavek and Pesek. This mercurial approach does not do the music justice. Ardor is translated into thrust, and it just doesn't seem that he has deliberated to the extent that the aforementioned conductors have done.

Still, this approach is a matter of taste, and the works are well-recorded.