COMPOSERS: Suk
LABELS: Meridian
WORKS: Summer Impressions; About Mother; Four Episodes; Suite, Op. 2; Humoresque; Album Leaf
PERFORMER: Niel Immelman (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: CDE 84317
Suk’s lyrical and evocative gifts are well to the fore in his piano music. None of the mainly descriptive pieces which comprise this disc disappoint; the very opening piece, ‘At noon’ from Summer Impressions, is superbly ear-catching and the suite About Mother, designed to capture for his son memories of the boy’s mother who died tragically young, is genuinely moving.
Niel Immelman’s first disc, issued two years ago, of what looks like a three-CD survey of all Suk’s solo piano music, was very successful. This second volume continues an impressive trend: Immelman identifies closely with Suk’s often wistful, nostalgic sound-world without burdening it with sentimentality. Sometimes his tempi are on the fast side, but this barely detracts from a fine CD. Jan Smaczny