SUK
Serenade for Strings in E♭,
Op. 6.
DVOŘÁK
Serenade for Strings in E♭,
Op. 22.
Nocturne
for Strings in B,
Op. 40
•
Daniel Myssyk, cond; Appassionata CO
•
FIDELIO 036 (64:05)
Here are two of the loveliest and most popular string serenades, with Dvořák’s
Nocturne
for String Orchestra thrown in for good measure. But apart from the performances, which are absolutely glorious, I must comment on the sound of the recording. A blurb on the back page of the enclosed booklet provides details on Fidelio’s X2HD process, which, among other things, makes use of all tube analog components. The results are simply astounding. I’ve heard lots of very impressive recordings, both of the two-channel stereo and multichannel SACD variety, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like this. The disc opens on a soundstage of such breadth, depth, clarity, and transparency that all sense of speakers, amplifiers, and other electronics between you and the orchestra quite literally disappears. You are there. The image is so realistic, it’s almost freakish. For this alone I would extend this release the strongest possible recommendation.
But should that not be recompense enough for you, Suk’s and Dvořák’s string serenades are among the three or four most beautiful works of their type, radiant of countenance and ripe with romantic plenty. To give it its formal name, the Appassionata Orchestre de Chambre is a Montréal-based ensemble composed of somewhere around 20 musicians, depending on the work being performed. The Dvořák serenade is heard here in a configuration of 6-5-4-3-1, while the Suk is heard in a configuration of 7-4-3-3-1. Performance-wise, I’d have to say that Appassionata, under the direction of Daniel Myssyk, “probably” doesn’t outshine a number of others in this repertoire—for example, the Prague Philharmonia on Supraphon, which pairs the same two works—but I put “probably” in quotes because again I come back to the recording, which is so extraordinary that it might possibly make Appassionata sound more stunning than it actually is. But even if that were the case—which it’s probably not—what difference would it make when the results are this spectacular? For over an hour’s worth of exquisitely beautiful music, lovingly played and stunningly recorded, I can’t recommend this disc too highly.
Jerry Dubins
