Roughly eight months after the death of Anton n Dvorák (1 May 1904) his son-in-law Josef Suk began to compose a funeral symphony. While he was working on it fate struck a second time with the death of his beloved wife Otilie. He dedicated the five-movement symphony to Dvorák and his daughter Otilie and named it after the Angel of Death Asrael .The principal source for our edition is the first edition of the score (1907) supplemented by the corrections Suk entered at the suggestion of conductor Václav Talich (1921). The most significant change was the expansion of the orchestra to include ad libitum parts for the fifth and sixth horns.Firstscholarly-critical editionIncludes Suk s later corrections including ad libitum parts for the fifth and sixth hornsDetailed Foreword (Cz/Eng/Ger) and Critical Commentary (Eng) by the editorPerformance material (BA9532-72) available for hire
