All Janácek articles
-
ReviewSpectrum. Janácek: Violin Sonata. Kreisler: Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta. Schubert: Violin Sonata in A major D574 ‘Grand Duo’. Stravinsky: Divertimento
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Beilman gets under the music’s skin in a dazzling recitalMusicians: Benjamin Beilman (violin) Yekwon Sunwoo (piano)Composer: Janácek; Kreisler; Schubert; StravinskyWorking alongside his regular accompanist Yekwon Sunwoo, Benjamin Beilman immediately draws us into the elusive sound world of Schubert’s D574 Sonata via his ...
-
ReviewDvorák: String Quartet no.13 in G major op.106. Janácek: String Quartet no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’. Suk: Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale ‘St Wenceslas’ op.35
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: The Wihan Quartet brings symphonic space to three Czech worksMusicians: Wihan QuartetComposer: Dvorák; JanácekThe Wihan’s performance of Dvorák’s Thirteenth Quartet injects passion into every bar of the opening movement, the composer’s profusion of dynamic indications used to create so many tonal nuances. ...
-
ReviewIdentity. Debussy: Violin Sonata. Janácek: Violin Sonata. Schulhoff: Violin Sonata. Szymanowski: Violin Sonata op. 9; Notturno and Tarantella op. 28
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Intelligent programming and ideal performancesMusicians: Noé Inui (violin) Mario Häring (piano)Composer: Debussy; Janácek; Schulhoff; SzymanowskiThis is a thoughtfully produced disc. The booklet notes, linking these early 20th-century compositions, create a useful conceptual context for these varied but complementary works, including ...
-
ReviewDvorák: Violin Concerto in A minor op.53. Janácek: Violin Concerto ‘The Wandering of a Little Soul’. Suk: Fantasy in G minor
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: paÄek sings and dances his way through three Czech concertosMusicians: Josef Š paÄek (violin) Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jirí BÄ›lohlávekComposer: Dvorák, Janácek, SukDvorák’s Violin Concerto lacks the sense of ease and inevitability that informs his very finest work. Like Bruch’s G minor Concerto, it ...
-
ReviewJanácek: String Quartets no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’; no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’. Martinu¯: String Quartet no.3
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Four become one in Janácek’s autobiographical quartet diptychMusicians: Doric QuartetComposer: Janácek, Martinu¯The players of the Doric Quartet clearly appreciate the drama at the heart of Janácek’s two quartets. They emphasise the tragedy of no.1 and one can sense the narrative of Tolstoy’s ...
-
ReviewWolf: Italian Serenade. Grieg: String Quartet no.1 in G minor op.27. Janácek: String Quartet no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Mixed results in three varied masterpieces of the quartet repertoireMusicians: Amphion QuartetComposer: Wolf, Grieg, JanácekConvincingly linking the very disparate sections within Grieg’s four-movement structure, the New York-based Amphion Quartet gives a highly impressive account of the composer’s youthfully passionate First Quartet. Having ...
-
ReviewJanácek: Violin Sonata, Dumka, Romance, Allegro. Suk: Four Pieces op.17. Dvorák: Romantic Pieces op.75, Nocturne op.40
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2015Description: A rewarding recital of highways and byways of Czech violin musicMusicians: Jennifer Pike (violin) Tom Poster (piano)Composer: Janácek, Suk, DvorákLaunching this coherent Czech collection, Jennifer Pike skilfully and imaginatively balances the Romantic and modernist elements in Janácek’s Violin Sonata, as ...
-
ReviewJanácek: String Quartets no.1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ & no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’, Piano Concertino
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Another entrant into a crowded field that manages to make its own markMusicians: Prážak Quartet, Slávka PÄ›choÄová -Vernerová (piano) Milan Polák (clarinet) Lukáš Korínek (bassoon) Jan Voboril (horn)Composer: JanácekCatalogue Number: Praga Digitals PRD/DSD 250301Holding back from the overstated dynamics that have ...