Ripening (Czech: Zrání), Op. 34 is a tone poem for large orchestra and women's chorus by Josef Suk.[1] Composition was completed in 1917.[2] The work completed the triptych of symphonic works that starts with the Asrael Symphony and A Summer's Tale.
Structure and character
[edit]The work was inspired by the same-named poem by Antonín Sova.[2] It is in seven sections.[3]
Rob Cowan has written "There can't be many orchestral works in the repertoire that better approximate, in musical terms, the blossoming of life in the face of conflict, even tragedy".[3]
Don O'Connor wrote for the American Record Guide that the piece represented "Suk's art at its peak and compares favorably with the best tone poems of Scriabin and Richard Strauss".[1]
Performance and recording
[edit]The work received its premiere in 1918.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Don O'Connor (11 March 2011). "SUK: The Ripening; Symphony 1". American Record Guide. 74 (2): 221.
- ^ a b Jon Paxman (13 October 2014). A Chronology Of Western Classical Music 1600-2000. Omnibus Press. pp. 561–. ISBN 978-1-78323-121-8.
- ^ a b Rob Cowan, Suk Symphony, Op 14 [sic]; Ripening, Gramophone, retrieved 4 July 2017
- ^ Richard Burton; Richard D. E. Burton (2003). Prague: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-1-902669-63-2.