Leos Janácek: Cunning Little Vixen (Suite) / Sinfonietta / Schluck & Jau / Jealousy (Original Prelude) / Kát'a Kabanová (Overture & Interludes) / Taras Bulba / Sárka (Overture) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra [Import]

Leos Janácek (Composer) (Artist), Sir Charles Mackerras (Conductor) (Artist), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Supraphon
• ASIN: B0001DMWHU
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,570 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Languages > Czech
  • #44 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Symphonies > Sinfonia

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Jealousy (Zárlivost), overture for orchestra, JW 6/10

2. The Cunning Little Vixen, suite for orchestra (arranged and orchestrated by Václav Talich): 1. Andante. Allegro. Stesso tempo. Meno m

3. The Cunning Little Vixen, suite for orchestra (arranged and orchestrated by Václav Talich): 2. Andante. Moderato. Allegro

4. Sárka, opera, JW 1/1: Overture

5. Taras Bulba, rhapsody for orchestra, JW 6/15: 1. The Death of Andri

6. Taras Bulba, rhapsody for orchestra, JW 6/15: 2. The Death of Ostap

7. Taras Bulba, rhapsody for orchestra, JW 6/15: 3. The Prophecy and Death of Taras Bulba

Disc: 2

1. Káta Kabanová, opera, JW 1/8: Overture

2. Káta Kabanová, opera, JW 1/8: Interlude 1, Act 1

3. Káta Kabanová, opera, JW 1/8: Interlude 2, Act 2

4. Schluck und Jau, incidental music, JW 9/11 (unfinished): 1. Andante

5. Schluck und Jau, incidental music, JW 9/11 (unfinished): 2. Allegro

6. Sinfonietta for orchestra ('Military,' 'Sokol Festival'), JW 6/18: 1. Allegretto

7. Sinfonietta for orchestra ('Military,' 'Sokol Festival'), JW 6/18: 2. Andante

8. Sinfonietta for orchestra ('Military,' 'Sokol Festival'), JW 6/18: 3. Moderato

9. Sinfonietta for orchestra ('Military,' 'Sokol Festival'), JW 6/18: 4. Allegretto

10. Sinfonietta for orchestra ('Military,' 'Sokol Festival'), JW 6/18: 5. Andante con moto - Allegretto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sir Charles in Prague, February 16, 2005

By 

LJM (Earth) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Leos Janácek: Cunning Little Vixen (Suite) / Sinfonietta / Schluck & Jau / Jealousy (Original Prelude) / Kát'a Kabanová (Overture & Interludes) / Taras Bulba / Sárka (Overture) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Audio CD)

Charles Mackerras is probably the greatest exponent of Janácek's music of all time. This fine Supraphon set collects his excellent Prague recordings from the recent years. It appears to be his testimony to Janácek's fans. The set includes not only the famous workds but also some of the rarely performed pieces (it is not a complete set, however).

Taras Bulba and the Sinfonietta are recorded live, which adds to the dramatic thrill of these masterworks. Czech Philharmonic plays them marvellously, and the interpretations are second to none.

Some of the material have already appeared in opera boxes: the ouvertures and other music from Kát'a kabanová and Sárka. But the Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen is a fresh recording, in Janácek's original orchestration. The performance is nothing but superb.

Schluck & Jau was Janácek's last orchestral score. It is a fascinating piece, wonderfully scored, and performed with precision and enthusiasm. The performance of the Jealousy Overture - the original Jenufa ouverture - is also very fine.

Moreover, recording quality is state of the art.

Warmly recommended!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUMMATION OF A LIFETIME'S DEDICATION TO JANACEK, April 12, 2006

By 

Klingsor Tristan (Suffolk) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leos Janácek: Cunning Little Vixen (Suite) / Sinfonietta / Schluck & Jau / Jealousy (Original Prelude) / Kát'a Kabanová (Overture & Interludes) / Taras Bulba / Sárka (Overture) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Audio CD)

Maybe these two discs are to be Sir Charles' farewell to recording Janacek. I wouldn't bet the house on it, though, because he still shows amazing energy levels at 80 years of age and is to conduct Makropoulos at the ENO next month. Nevertheless, you could certainly argue that these performances provide us with a summation of a lifetime's love and scholarly work on these scores from Janacek's greatest proselytiser.

Many of these works have been recorded by Sir Charles before, notably on his ground-breaking Pye recording from the 50's. There was a certain rawness about that recording (partly because of the musicians' unfamiliarity with the music and their sense of discovery, partly because of the dry acoustic) that suited this music particularly well - better, I think, than the plushness and greater security of the later Vienna Philharmonic performances.

The Sarka and Katya excerpts here come from Mackerras' complete Supraphon recordings of the operas. The Katya interludes really exist only as a result of Sir Charles' research and this is wonderful music that we (and the opera) would now be much poorer without.

Most of the other performances are taken from live performances in Prague. They are consistently fine and carry a strong feeling of authenticity when played, as here, by a Czech orchestra. The Jealousy Overture is a great opener, much better in a concert context than in Jenufa for which it was originally written. The Vixen Suite is just gorgeous. There are none of the humans in this Suite, not even the Forester's pantheistic final aria. It is all about the animals and includes the inspiring ballet in which the Vixen dreams of her freedom. Sir Charles and his Czech players give a truly uplifting performance.

Perhaps the most intriguing piece here is the rarity, the orchestral music Janacek wrote for the play, Schluck und Jau. This is the last orchestral music that the composer ever wrote. There are echoes in it of the imperial fanfares from the Makropoulos Affair and of passages from the House of the Dead but it also shows him still questing for new sonorities, fully brought out in this definitive performance.

The two big pieces on these discs - Taras Bulba and the Sinfonietta - are both great live performances. In the former, Sir Charles really gives the graphic and illustrative instrumentation full reign - the integrated organ sounds, the strangulated clarinet, the ideally crisp timps, the solo horn way up high in its register and the full rich brass ensemble of Taras' final apotheosis. The Sinfonietta, too, is as near definitive as you'll get. The full compliment of brass for the opening and closing fanfares are there and the tiered effects the composer demands are ideally realised. I suspect a bit of textual tidying up here and there from Sir Charles the scholar. Certainly the results are as clear and crisp as you could ask, whether in chattering woodwind, crystal bright trumpet playing or perfectly intonated string playing whether at speed or at rest.

All in all, these discs represent a wonderful summary of a lifetime's dedication the Janacek. Worth every penny.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talent without artificial poses or flippant inflections !, August 12, 2010

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leos Janácek: Cunning Little Vixen (Suite) / Sinfonietta / Schluck & Jau / Jealousy (Original Prelude) / Kát'a Kabanová (Overture & Interludes) / Taras Bulba / Sárka (Overture) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Audio CD)

The brilliant director Sir Charles Mackerras (who passed way on July 14th ) said that probably he would be reminded, specially and overall by Janacek's music.

In fact, his profound devotion for diffusing the music of this extraordinary and still overlooked composer talks by itself with this admirable set who includes all the set of orchestral works.

Commitment, vitality, volcanic flair, steeled conviction and bullet proof honesty plus the wonderful presence of one of the finest orchestras in the world make of this album a must-have.

A collector item, in few words.