This is the sort of release that flies under the radar of most collectors, but really shouldn’t. Dvorák’s Czech Suite tends to fall into the category of his “cute” or “light” music–and so it is, I suppose; but it’s a very substantial piece nonetheless, and as perfect as it gets in terms of form, melody, and scoring. The fourth-movement Romanza is beyond gorgeous, and it’s fabulously played and recorded here, as you might well imagine from these forces. In fact, Zdenek Mácal has done this piece previously, and quite well, for Koss Classics, but having the Czech Philharmonic on hand makes all the difference.
There really is not such a thing as “light” Suk. His basic seriousness permeates everything that he wrote, even in the pre-“Asrael” Symphony period. A Fairy Tale is, in all essentials, a four-movement symphony, in scope and feeling if not necessarily in form. The music is recognizably Czech, but also melodically quite personal and captivating, with a third movement (“Funeral Music”) that’s particularly intense. There have been previous recordings, mostly on Supraphon, all of them worthy in various ways, but none better than this. If you don’t know this music (or don’t know it very well), here’s a chance to really savor it.
