Pavel Šporcl - Dvořák & Suk: Violin Works (2006)

A wonderful program of Czech classics for violin and piano, this coupling of Dvorák's Sonata and Nocturne with his star pupil Josef Suk's Four Pieces is a substantial contribution to the repertoire. Violinist Pavel Sporcl is a powerful advocate for both composers. He finds a depth and a lyrical mastery in Dvorák's Sonata that rank it with Brahms' Sonata in G major and a passionate intensity in the Nocturne that ranks it among the best in nineteenth century seduction music. And he likewise finds a dramatic flamboyance and an ardent romanticism in Suk's Four Pieces that may persuade nonbelievers that they rank with the most virtuosically charismatic works of Ysaÿe. Sporcl has the supple technique and the warm-hearted tone of the great Czech violinists, but his attack is more biting and his brilliance more coruscating. Pianist Petr Jirikovský is a supremely able accompanist who supports and challenges Sporcl in equal measure and who sticks with him even in the rhapsodic tempo rubato of the closing transcriptions of three of Dvorák's Slavonic Dances by Fritz Kreisler. That Sporcl can play them shows how good he is. That he can play them so well shows how great he is. Supraphon's 2006 sound is close, clear, and clean.