Suk’s great memorial symphony to his father-in-law Dvořák and his own wife is indelibly associated on disc with the Czech Philharmonic, its very singular sound world – most particularly among the brass and woodwinds – bringing this most mysterious of early 20th-century symphonic masterpieces into close proximity with nature. You need only sample Charles Mackerras’s Czech Phil Supraphon recording, either in the scherzo or the fugal section of the finale, to hear how Tomáš Netopil and his far mellower Essener Philharmoniker lack bite.

But that’s only part of the story. Much of Asrael – an essentially non-programmatic work, although the title refers to the angel of death according to Islam, Sikhism and some Hebrew lore – is elegiac, the symphony’s close recalling the latter part of Liszt’s A Faust Symphony. Perhaps its most affecting passages are in the fourth-movement Adagio; and although Netopil captures the music’s signature solemnity, you need only turn to Václav Talich’s premiere Czech Philharmonic version (Talich knew Suk well) to feel an added emotional swell. Suddenly it’s as if the call across the years has vanished: Talich’s Asrael is the only place to start if you really want to access the work’s bared soul. Mackerras comes very close but then he learnt the work from Talich, and his fine performance certainly echoes his master’s voice.

That said, I should point out that this is the premiere recording of the new Bärenreiter Urtext score (the first-ever scholarly edition of Asrael), so that if textual minutiae take precedence over the grander, grittier picture then this is obviously a ‘must have’ version, maybe as a supplement to other recordings you happen to own. And it is very good, but for me the Czech Philharmonic versions under Talich, Neumann, Pešek, Mackerras (all on Supraphon) and Bělohlávek (Chandos, 5/92, as well as his version with the BBC Symphony – Supraphon, 10/12) take the edge, principally because they promote a sound that better fits the work’s mood and language. Rafael Kubelík with the Bavarian Radio Symphony (Panton, 1/94) offers another gripping performance, one much to be recommended. Incidentally, Sir Simon Rattle has a compelling way with this piece. He too should record it.