SUK: “RIPENING.” Czech Philharmonic Chorus and Czech...

SUK: “RIPENING.” Czech Philharmonic Chorus and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vaclav Neumann. Denon 33C37-7955 (compact disc). Suk belies his reputation as a post-Dvorakian Moravian colorist with this 39-minute tone poem, inspired in 1912 by a poem by Antonin Sova. The harmonies wander more daringly than his earlier output through a musical landscape already explored by Mahler and Scriabin, but Suk counters his philosophical striving with a massive fugal finale, in which he adds women’s voices. It’s both unwieldy and original, and though the recording venue isn’t the most flattering, Neumann moves the music expertly.