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Czech Music for Strings
Leoš JANÁČEK (1854-1928)
Suite for String Orchestra, JW VI / 2 [19:03]
String Quartet No. 1, JW VII / 8, arr. Tognetti [18:01]
Bohuslav MARTINŰ (1890-1959)
Sextet, H 224A, arr. Martinů [18:23]
Pavel HAAS (1899-1944)
Study for string orchestra, completed by Lubomir Peduzzi [9:09]
Janáček Chamber Orchestra
rec. 2, 3, 9 May, 2009 (Sextet, Study, Quartet) and 6 September 2010 (Suite), Church of the Czechoslovak Hussite, Ostrava, Czech Republic
CHANDOS CHAN10678 [64:36]
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You’d be forgiven for thinking the Czech string music market
was cornered by the lovely romantic serenades by Dvorák and
Suk. But this brilliant collection, ranging from 1877 to 1950,
happily proves otherwise, bringing together works by Leo
Janáček (early and late periods), Pavel Haas, and Bohuslav
Martinů.
Janacek’s Suite, leading the disc off, is not what one would
expect from the composer: it’s a very early work, hailing from
1877, when the 23-year-old was still under the spell of Dvorák’s
style and, indeed, had only written a single student work for
orchestral ensemble before (an elegy for strings which received
its premiere, presumably after years of being lost, in 1988).
But there is, already at this early date, an interesting contrast
between very ‘romantic’ sections of the six-movement suite and
portions, like the heart-tugging, almost Tchaikovsky-like fifth
movement adagio, and less overtly lyrical passages, like the
opening minute or so, which betray the rhythmically bold, harmonically
unique style which Janáček would be cultivating 40 years
later. The fourth movement sounds a bit like a gruff Joachim
Raff. We may not quite be hearing adult Janáček, but this
is a charming suite which does bear hints of the composer to
come.
Martinů arranged his own string sextet for chamber orchestra,
and it is an excellent work written for six players in 1932
and larger ensemble in 1950. The first movement begins with
a slight pensiveness but the piece unfolds in cheerier and more
rhythmically engaging ways; the lyrical coda allows light to
shine through. The slow movement is another short journey, but
into more shadowy regions. The finale evolves in the opposite
direction, moving over its course toward an irrepressibly catchy
folk-rhapsody. Somebody has described it as a Martinů symphony
for the strings, and it is beefy enough and engaging enough
to deserve the comparison.
Pavel Haas was one of the many talented Czech composers to die
in the Holocaust; he may now be best remembered for inspiring
the exceptional string quartet which bears his name (and for
his three quartets, which that ensemble now champions). The
Study was written for a string orchestra in the Terezín concentration
camp, under the leadership of Karel Ančerl, and was performed
there twice. After the war (and Haas’s death) Ancerl managed
to track down all the individual parts except the double bass,
which was (with permission of the composer’s family) reconstructed
by Lubomír Peduzzi. The work is a superb one, cramming a lot
of expression into its nine minutes; the language will be familiar
to those who know and love Haas’ quartets.
We conclude with more Janáček, this time the ‘Kreutzer
Sonata’ string quartet arranged for chamber orchestra by the
violinist-conductor Richard Tognetti. Tognetti has recorded
the arranged quartet for Chandos with his Australian Chamber
Orchestra along with Szymanowski and an arrangement of Pavel
Haas’s second quartet. This performance by the Janáček
Chamber Orchestra is speedier than many a string-quartet performance
(compare 18:01 to the Pavel Haas Quartet’s 18:51). There’s some
simply exceptional playing here: in the fastest, most vigorous
moments the Janáček Chamber Orchestra really gets to show
off and they relish the opportunity. Tognetti smartly retains
solos at certain moments, a practice which keeps the ear engaged
and which keeps the music sounding idiomatically ‘true.’
There is basically nothing to criticize about this release.
Only one of the four works here is appearing in its original
guise, but they all engage the ear and they fit together stylistically—in
other words, it’s a great program. The orchestra play beautifully,
with the required rhythmic precision, and, where the music allows
it (like the Suite’s fifth movement), great poetry as well.
Solos are superb all around. For fans of Janáček, Haas,
and Martinů, this is an hour of guaranteed satisfaction.
Postscript: if you like what’s on this disc, try the Philadelphia
Orchestra’s 2005 recording of the Bartók Concerto for Orchestra,
which comes coupled with a fantastic Czech work for strings,
the Partita by Gideon Klein. Like Pavel Haas’s Study, Klein’s
Partita was composed in the Terezín concentration camp, and
it too is a small, achingly promising masterpiece.
Brian Reinhart
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