A Summer's Tale / A Winter's Tale

"Suk's inspired genius for orchestral polyphony is finely demonstrated in the series of works that span 1905-32. The Asrael Symphony commemorates the death of his wife Otylka and her father Dvorak - 'my beloved teacher'. A Summer's Tale, an episodic work which Mahler praised, and the highly concentrated Ripening, revolve around different stages of man's maturity combined with the forces of nature. Three years before his own demise, Epilogue embrace universal love. In 40 years, only five recordings of A Summer Tale (1970-9) have appeared, but I still haven't caught up with any live performance, let alone had sight of the full score!"
- Hi Fi News & Record Review, June 2000

Josef Suk (1874-1935) was Dvorák's favourite pupil as well as his son-in-law — he married his daughter Otilie. He had a great influence on Czech music, first as a very successful virtuoso violinist on the international stage, then as a composer, regarded at the turn of the century as the master of the modern Czech school. Suk was also a music teacher, and had Martinu in his classes.
As a composer, Suk was considered Dvorák's natural successor, and although he was obviously influenced by Richard Strauss and the French school, Dvorák remained his main model. Summer Tale (1907), a Strauss/Mahler-like tone poem, is a very elaborate piece and displays some of Suk's best neo-Romantic output. The Fantastic Scherzo is a short virtuosic piece dating from the same period.