Kubelik’s
fabled Bavarian Janáček tapes have
been much reissued. They are part of
the DG legacy and have still have plenty
of vibrant life left in them. Almost
forty years old they have clout
and a grunting immediacy. No doubt this
is the reason why this disc has attracted
a Penguin Rosette and why it has turned
up in new livery on the DG Rosette Collection
series at an attractive price.
Despite triumphantly
powerful recording qualities, the Concertino
remains obstinately opaque, at least
to this listener. It is a pity that
Kubelik’s version of the Glagolytic
Mass could not have been squeezed
on instead. There are no such problems
with the other two works. Kubelik has
a wonderful and ever-fresh empathy for
this music. He plays it for all it is
worth whether in the supremely singing
melancholy of the Moderato of
the Sinfonietta or in the barking
bardic trombones at 6:30 in The Death
of Andri from Taras Bulba.
The Bavarian violins are silvery and
steely all at once. The firmament clawing
trumpets at 7:01 in the Death of
Andri are imposing. Then again,
colouristic strokes such as the ice-frosted
crystalline screech of the violins at
the start of the Death of Ostap add
further to the effect. In the Allegretto
(tr. 9) of the Sinfonietta the
yelping manic hysteria of the horns
is remarkable. The classic Decca version
of Mackerras and the VPO sounds excellent
but is out-pointed by this overwhelming
disc. Of the ones I know the only version
to come at all close is the Reference
Recordings double of the Czech Radio
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jose
Serebrier (RR-2103). That RR double
is well worth getting for it catches
Serebrier and his orchestra to perfection
in Janáček.
The recording is exceptional and the
interpretative values are very high.
In the meantime if you are in search
of a resoundingly great recording from
the analogue 1970s then look no further
than Kubelik and DG. It may well be
all you ever need for these two
key works.
Kubelik lays bare the
imperiously beating heart of this music
and is complemented by DG’s electrifying
recording ... rich in amplitude and
dynamic life.
Rob Barnett
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Rudolf Firkušný (piano) (Concertino) 
