I went there just before Covid and saw five of the operas, including the Vixen -- for me the greatest opera ever written -- and the virtually never staged "Beginning of a Romance" in a delightful production.
In Europe, esp. in Germany, it is often in the repertoire. I saw it last month in Gelsenkirchen (a city in the Ruhr region, where we have 8 opera-houses).
I bought this record many years ago, in my youth, and gave it as a present to a friend , a great singer along Paris orchestra. It was in my opinion, such a brillant and delicate piece of music, not so far from Kodaly ' s music. Then time has past and i do not regret it at all. It still remains one of the most expressive music i heared, a realy nice and clever score. I can hear, i can see the little Vixen juping through snow , and yelping after fox cubs. Refreshing. From France ! Christian.
Janáček absolutely captures the spirit of vixens in this incredibly moving orchestration! Better than anything even I could produce, I must say. I could only encapsulate childish characteristics.
This music is exquisite, dynamic, fresh and elegant. It is the confluence point where a deep lyricism, ancient influences and rich harmony make you feel caressed by the peace of nature !
@@logojimmy The recording of the full opera with Mackerras conducting the Vienna Philharmonic on Decca. Can't go wrong with any of the Mackerras/Vienna recordings. Mackerras is the conductor who put Janacek's operas in the repertoire and restored all his orchestration. I'd go to Jenufa after the Cunning Little Vixen.
Around 4:00 is where the magic happens and then those violins at around 4:30-40 reach their most beautiful peak. It’s heart melting, it’s beyond beautiful. It’s truly, in all senses, alive.
Those of us in classical music tend to get really hung up about overemphasizing the German, French, Italian and English classical traditions -- but the truth of the matter is, the Czechs have a tradition which every bit as strong and as deep as the four I just mentioned. Consider the roster of first-rank Czech composers: Martinu. Janacek. Smetana. Dvorak. Dussek (one of the really *great* writers of piano music, up there with Schubert and Beethoven). Vorisek. Tomasek. Benda. ALL of these composers are top-drawer composers. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky were all keenly aware of the importance of the Czech tradition of composers.
Dear, Nevertheless, a remember when i was a teenager, i used to be welcome sincerly in a great family from the "Orchestre de paris"... and both of the parents were singers of the choir, and not the lasts... the only subject was "french composers" or "German composers", except Debussy... Honestly i learnt and receive much from each one in this family, but i also remember that when i brought this"little vixen" from Janáček and after Kodaly "the spinning room"... into my second home, none was realy interested. Much more, they didn' t say a single word when i offered this record when appeared in cd... Since i discovered myself, in the footsteps of Zoltan Kodaly, that folk-songs are treasures.. Institution slowly erase life in music, eventhough you can play and sing mozart... a certain delicacy doesn' t make authenticity ! I learnt myself the high value of folksongs and ethnomusicoloy... i still listen to wellknown composers, but less than any others, without any regrets, because, nowaday, i exchange as much as possible with great young prodigies, or their parents, far over the world, as it doesn' t exist in our schools or academies, nor musical institutions... i also learnt to appreciate arabic music, just an entire world, much more complex and rich than it is said anywere... and authentic...so pure by the way ! I just laugh a little bit when i think to an Iraki singer, who sold yet 100 millions of cd over the world, singing love and delicacy with modulations we lost from centuries...and in Europe it is impossoble to get only one record... hahaha ! Great occidental music area ! I remember that Debussy, the one i prefer from far, had a father well involved as "communard" in 1871, then thanks to a few month in prison, he met the future master of his young son Claude... so when you have fundamentaly courage and involvement for great cause, music comes, as love comes... the rest is so sad...and doesn' t bring any honnour in fact ! i wouldn' t go to "Pleyel" any more, and i prefer hearing Bruno Walter with my old Vinyles records, He, was a man !... and with Kathleen Ferrier; it is something different than current news ! ones always talks about composers... Human beings are much more important, through their renditions... the rest is so dependent of history and business...
Nationality means less than does geography in musical expression. Bach is obviously far more similar to Vivaldi than to Hindemith, and Martinu is far more similar to Carlos Chavez than to Zelenka.
@carp bear. You are so right and it remains a mystery to me why Martinu and Janacek in particular are not heard more often in many countries, particularly the U.S. Then there are the great under performed Scandinavian composers such as Nielsen, Stenhammar and Madetoja. Even Sibelius, one of the greatest composers of all time, was neglected in many European countries until the 1950's and I believe even now he is not greatly appreciated in Germany though this situation is starting to change.
I just cannot understand why Janacek operas are not fully appreciated in the Czech Republic. He, to my mind is their greatest composer. His operas are some of the most beautiful compositions in the world of opera.Totally original. On March 1st 2018 i will be in the National Theatre in Prague( on the front row of the stalls) for the Cunning Little Vixen. I can tell you now that all seats will not be sold and that the majority of the audience will be non Czech......virtually tourists like me and those genuine Czech Janacek lovers. Performances of Tosca, Butterfly,Aida have been sold out online for months! It's just a shame that i wont be in Prague to see their current production of Martinu's Juliette.
1 of greatest of fanfares. Blindingly lustrous, silly with pure genius, voice of the times, statement for 1920s, forward looking, fed by roots of Slav history, also a voice of Janacek in last years of life, his seventies, radiant with youth & affirmation, even ecstatic, yet in a sublimely controlled way. If this is "military," I'll be a soldier: if we settled our wars by who writes best fanfares, we'd be there. 1st 2 minutes, and @end of Finale, stir me @the core with or without my permission!
Stunningly beautiful! Saw this with Lesley Garrett, and again with Lilian Watson.........both wonderful. Made an old man cry both times! This suite is great.
..... following comment...Nevertheless, a remember when i was a teenager, i used to be welcome sincerly in a great family from the "Orchestre de paris"... and both of the parents were singers of the choir, and not the lasts... the only subject was "french composers" or "German composers", except Debussy... Honestly i learnt and receive much from each one in this family, but i also remember that when i brought this"little vixen" from Janáček and after Kodaly "the spinning room"... into my second home, none was realy interested. Much more, they didn' t say a single word when i offered this record when appeared in cd... Since i discovered myself, in the footsteps of Zoltan Kodaly, that folk-songs are treasures.. Institution slowly erase life in music, eventhough you can play and sing mozart... a certain delicacy doesn' t make authenticity ! I learnt myself the high value of folksongs and ethnomusicoloy... i still listen to wellknown composers, but less than any others, without any regrets, because, nowaday, i exchange as much as possible with great young prodigies, or their parents, far over the world, as it doesn' t exist in our schools or academies, nor musical institutions... i also learnt to appreciate arabic music, just an entire world, much more complex and rich than it is said anywere... and authentic...so pure by the way ! I just laugh a little bit when i think to an Iraki singer, who sold yet 100 millions of cd over the world, singing love and delicacy with modulations we lost from centuries...and in Europe it is impossoble to get only one record... hahaha ! Great occidental music area ! I remember that Debussy, the one i prefer from far, had a father well involved as "communard" in 1871, then thanks to a few month in prison, he met the future master of his young son Claude... so when you have fundamentaly courage and involvement for great cause, music comes, as love comes... the rest is so sad...and doesn' t bring any honnour in fact ! i wouldn' t go to "Pleyel" any more, and i prefer hearing Bruno Walter with my old Vinyles records, He, was a man !... and with Kathleen Ferrier; it is something different than current news ! ones always talks about composers... Human beings are much more important, through their renditions... the rest is so dependent of history and business...
I'll confess, I was familiar with his name but not his music - boy was I out to lunch. This is great and the sound quality of this recording is exceptional for RU-vid (I'm listening with headphones).
You need to hear the following Janacek at a minimum - operas The Cunning Little Vixen and Jenufa, Taras Bulba, Sinfonietta, the 2 string quartets, the solo piano compositions 1905 Sonata and On an Overgrown Path, and the Glagolitic Mass.
I agree with Amy, this is a lovely version. Years ago, living in N Michigan, I wrote down a list of 'musical loves' heard over Interlaken Public Radio. Forgotten, I just found it again last week! (I never throw ANYTHING away!) Your fine presentation explains why I included this breathtaking piece on my list in the first place. Thank you so much!
For most composers, the cause of their greatest suffering is music critics. Their damning and ignorant remarks cause not only suffering but damage to their sleep so necessary for composition.
carp bear: Thank you for reminding us of the abundance of Czech composers, however you did forget at least two: Jan Dismas Zelenka who even J S Bach praised, and Anton Reicha who met and played in an orchestra with Beethoven. Although his 24 wind quintets were composed in a "cookie cutter" style, he not only taught at the Paris Conservatory, Reicha also wrote books on music theory subjects.
Too true: I posted the above to a RU-vid on the page, of Jancek's "Military Symphony" or Sinfonietta of 1926. Ironically, though, I got redirected somehow to this work, which I had never heard. Janacek is an amazing composer, his originality and pure modern flair that he envelopes his more astounding pieces, make him one of my favorites. I've concluded that Aaron Copland was heavily influenced by the Sinfonietta to write the "Fanfare for the Common Man," another great work for brass.
I wish he'd written more as well. Have you heard the two string quartets? I've tried to perform just the Violin Sonata adequately, and learning it made me wonder how he'd written_so much_? Janacek is very intense.
yes, please add the correct description that this is the recording by Sir Charles Mackerras and Czech Philharmonic, not like youtube automatically assigned a description.
Ok, music theory experts. Teach me. Why does what begins at 8:33 always mean "water, the ocean, the sea"? I know a lot of things but I can't figure that out. What is it about Leos' passage there, that "says" that? And why?
The discussion about nationalism and music is irrelevant nowadays. It hasn´t been in the last centuries because music was often used as a political statement and some composers, especially in the slavic countries, were very focused on glorifyingtheir fatherlands. If we talk about what´s typical Russian in Russian music of the 19th century, we find answers to that. Does it matter to a contemporary understanding? If we analyze structure, rhythmic patterns and such, yes. If we focus on the emotional impact it doesn´t, really. So I guess some guys here mix things up and get some pride out of the fact that there are Italian singers, Russian composers or Bolivian conductors. But it´s absolutely useless because you better be proud of something you achieved for yourself. Because if we were born in another time and place, we would have been different. And then what...?
