Leos Janacek: Vec Makropulos (The Makropulos Case) / Lachian Dances [Box set]
Track Listings
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1. Act I- Prelude
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2. Act I- Ach Je, Ach Boze!
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3. Act I- Tati, Ta Marty Je Ohromna
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4. Act I- Tady Prosim, Jenom Racte
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5. Act I- Konecne! ... Dobre, Gregore!
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6. Act I- Emilie! ... Pro Tebe Nejsem Emilie
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7. Act I- Nasli Jsme! Nasil!
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8. Act Ii- Videli Ty Kytice-
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9. Act Ii- Janku, Pojd' Sem!
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10. Act Ii- Dovolte, Dovolte, Prosim
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11. Act Ii- Dalsi. Kdo Mi Co Chce-
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12. Act Ii- Dovolte Mi Drive Otazku
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13. Act Ii- Tos Ty, Bertiku-
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14. Act Ii- To Jsi Ty, Bertiku-
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15. Act Iii- Nu- Slysite-
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16. Act Iii- Buenos Dias, Maxi!
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17. Act Iii- Pecitko S Inicialkou
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18. Act Iii- Pro Lekare!
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19. Lachian Dances- Starodavny I
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20. Lachian Dances- Dymak
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See all 23 tracks on this disc
Leos Janacek: Vec Makropulos (The Makropulos Case) / Lachian Dances, Music, Leos Janacek, Sir Charles Mackerras, Francois Huybrechts, Beno Blachut, Dalibor Jedlicka, Vladimir Krejcik, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Elisabeth Söderström, Classical, Classical Music, Czech 20th/21st Century Opera, Dance/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Orchestra, Opera, Orchestral
Average customer rating:
- Tutti
- WONDERFUL SAMPLER CD!
- Tutti - Orchestral Sampler
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Tutti!, Orchestral Sampler
Manufacturer: Reference Recordings
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- Minnesota Orchestra Showcase
- 30th Anniversary Sampler
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- Reference Classics
- Exotic Dances from the Opera
ASIN: B0000015AK
Release Date: 1998-02-24 |
Tracks:
- Dance Of The Tumblers
- Intermezzo e Humoreske
- Rocky Point Holiday
- The Firebird - Berceuse And Finale
- The Firebird - Berceuse And Finale
- Piano Concerto No. 21 - Andante
- Symphony No. 1 - Allegretto Con Grazia
- Symphony No. 9 - Scherzo
- Concerto In F, RV 569 - Allegro
- The Padstow Lifeboat
- Escales - Anime (Valencia)
- The Times Of Day - Der Morgen
- The Makropulos Case
- E.C.F., From Presque Isle
- Pictures At An Exhibition: Baba Yaga; Great Gate At Kiev
- Pictures At An Exhibition: Baba Yaga; Great Gate At Kiev
Customer Reviews:
Tutti.......2000-05-06
Although a compilation of various pieces, this CD has the drama and sonic impact which will test the limits of your system. The orchestral presentations are first class. The sound stage presentations with the left to right width and the front to back depth give the listener an outstanding three dimensional impression of the actual orchestra instrument placement in the recording hall as well as the hall's ambient sound.
I have from time to time heard the expression 'sound windows' when discussing Speakers in an audio system. This CD will give you an excellent opportunity to check the clarity and precision of your system....in particular the bottom end capabilities of both the ampifier and the speakers.
I stronly recommend using this CD as a true Reference CD Rrecording when evaluating enhancements or upgrades to your system. Bring this CD to your dealer and listen carefully.
Get to know what your system is capable of and what it is not capable of delivering before and after listening tests for your new component.
Good Luck
WONDERFUL SAMPLER CD!.......2000-02-26
It does the trick. It literally samples the entire recent Reference Recordings catalogue, with varied excerpts from all kinds of music, a rare and exciting compilation wel worth the price. I reccommend it highly.
Tutti - Orchestral Sampler.......2000-02-02
This sampler is not your typical classical sampler. As seen from the track listing, it contains a diverse, but incongrous, selection of orchestral pieces, mixing Mozart, Vivaldi and Rimsky-Korsakov with more contemporary composers such as Bruckner, Arnold, and Paray. Although the list of selections is tempting and attractive to those who want to expand their musical knowledge, the combination just doesn't work. The jump from Mozart to Paray to Arnold to Vivaldi is unsettling to the ear, although it may be suited to a music education class. If, however, you seek less traditional (less soothing), less harmonic (more tempestuous), orchestral music, this may be the collection for you. The conducting and performances are very good. It certainly will never be background music for dinner!
Average customer rating:
- Lives up to the rave review by Mr. Hollingsworth
- Serebrier at his finest: The best Janacek discs!
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Janácek: Orchestral Works
Manufacturer: Reference Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Dances
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Similar Items:
- Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances/ Vocalise/ Etudes-tableaux
- Grieg: Norwegian Dances; Ballade; Slåtter
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- Respighi: Belkis, Queen of Sheba
- Copland: Fanfare; Symphony No3
ASIN: B00005RDB2
Release Date: 2001-10-30 |
Tracks:
- Sinfonietta: Fanfares
- Sinfonietta: The Castle
- Sinfonietta: The Queen's Monastary
- Sinfonietta: The Street
- Sinfonietta: The Town
- Lachian Dances: Starodavny
- Lachian Dances: Pozehnany
- Lachian Dances: Dymak
- Lachian Dances: Starodavny II
- Lachian Dances: Celadensky
- Lachian Dances: Pilky
- Taras Bulba: The Death Of Andrei
- Taras Bulba: The Death Of Ostap
- Taras Bulba: Prophecy And Death Of Taras Bulba
Tracks:
- The Cunning Little Vixen - Ste: Part One
- The Cunning Little Vixen - Ste: Part Two
- Jealousy (Original Prld To Jenufa)
- From The House Of The Dead: Prld
- The Makropulos Case: Act I
- The Makropulos Case: Act II
- The Makropulos Case: Act III
Customer Reviews:
Lives up to the rave review by Mr. Hollingsworth.......2003-01-24
I've become a recent devotee of Janacek's music, in particular with regards to his most folk-inspired works (Lachian Dances and Rakos Rakoczy). I'm always on the lookout for worthy recordings of the Lachian Dances and the previous review seemed positive. I was not disappointed. Compared to the Decca Double Decker with Mackerras and Huybrechts, Srebenier extracts a bit more verve and fun from his players. The Decca recording is indeed impressive in its own right (I'd give it 4-and-a-half stars), but the Czech State Philharmonic and Srebenier seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves playing on "home turf" as it were. In other words, although the Decca recording sounds more polished from a technical standpoint, the playing sounds a little stately or "officious" (for lack of a better word) compared to the Reference recording. If you already have the Decca recording, by all means, go for this one as well.
Serebrier at his finest: The best Janacek discs!.......2002-07-19
For decades, Mackerras' recording of Janacek's Taras Bulba and Sinfonietta has been deemed the best in the catalogue, against which all others have been measured. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (VPO), which knows as much of Janacek as they do of Bruckner, played the works with authority and with real feeling. The strings are of real bloom and weight, the woodwinds crispy, the brass blazen and glorious, and the percussion mesmerizing. Sir Charles Mackerras, among the best of Janacek's interpreters (along with Bretislav Bakala, Frantisek Jilek, & Vaclav Neumann earlier), gives the renditions of vividness and imagination and the phrasings are as genuine and ideal as expected.
But,...here comes this recording! Let me say upfront that Serebrier measures up to Mackerras in every way. And the Czech State Philharmonic (of Brno) is as authoritative as the VPO, with every bar & every detail so well caught and conveyed even at higher levels than its Viennese rival. Furthermore, the Czech State Philharmonic brings out more authenticity of these works, thanks in some part to the recording. For example, listen to the second movement of Sinfonietta "The Castle." Notice how a sense of mystery, after, say 1'35", becomes compellingly restraint and haunting (the strings and woodwinds must be credited for this, as well as Serebrier, who conveys these dimensions more successfully than even Belohlavek). How about the third movement "The Queen's Monastary", which is played with real beauty and eloquence, with a certain feeling of nostalgia and sadness. Exemplary, even in regards to the other works like Taras Bulba and the Lachian Dances. I would hesitate to replace my Decca recording of the Lachian Dances well served by Francois Huybrechts and the London Philharmonic, especially since it's coupled with Janacek's Vec Makropulos-which London Decca foolishly deleted-along with other Janacek's operas extremely well executed by Mackerras, the VPO, and its wonderful casts (remember Elisabeth Soderstrom?). Instead, Serebrier's edition is well worth having: it has plenty of vitality and enjoyment. And the way Serebrier brings out the tragic menance and drama of Taras Bulba is idiomatic and purely exciting. The closing of Taras Bulba is done triumphantly and with appropriate grandioseness, although the organ should have more of an imposing presence.
Reference Recordings (RR), which compiled the original 1995-1996 recordings of these works, includes the second disc (under the two for the price of one scheme). This disc contains selections from Janacek's popular operas: Suite from "The Cunning Little Vixen", preludes to "Jenufa" (entitled "Jealously") and "From the House of the Dead", and Serebrier's Symphonic Synthesis of "Vec Makropulos." This second disc is as every bit enjoyable as the first disc containing Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba, and the Lachian Dances. The "Cunning Little Vixen" Suite (in the Talich/Smetacek edition) is done with upmost vividness and flair. But the Vec Makropulos synthesis is every bit as paradigmatic. Serebrier, a very successful composer in his own right, confessed the challenge he faced in coming up with the synthesis, which no one has done before. Well, it pays off. The synthesis upholds the essence of Janacek's very demanding opera, while not minimizing its emotional and musical impact. Moreover, the Czech State Philharmonic comes up huge again (the prelude comes off well and with fire under their musicianship).
So, an highly enjoyable two-disc set that in many ways outshine Mackerras' Decca recording. As alluded to earlier, the quality of the recording is part of this album's success. The sound is more "Czech" in feeling and extremely well focused. You might be tempted to buy Belohlavek's Chandos recording of especially the Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba. Chandos likewise offer, for the price of one, a two-disc (compiled) set of these works, plus Fiddler's Child as well as Idyll and Suite (both for Strings idiomatically played by Gregory Rose and the Jupiter Orchestra), but minus the "House of the Dead" prelude and "Vec Makropulos." The Chandos album is well worth having, though Belohlavek's approach to Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba is not as ideal as Serebrier or Mackerras (the brass of the Czech Philharmonic is surprisingly not as glorious and blazen as the Czech State Philharmonic or the VPO and their strings lack tonal radiance and body comparatively speaking). Otherwise, Belohlavek is better on the other works, like Fiddler's Child and the "Cunning Little Vixen" Suite.
But, Serebrier's recordings of Janacek's masterpieces can now be deemed as the benchmark recordings against which all others will be measured! Will Serebrier record Janacek's operas as a just compensation for the deleted Decca/Mackerras recordings (still held as the best in the catalogue)? Oh boy I dare hope so!
Average customer rating:
- Sounds pretty much like his other operas
- Correction to Product Details
- THE recording of this important opera
- Una de las mejores óperas de Janacek
- Excellent
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Leos Janacek: Vec Makropulos (The Makropulos Case) / Lachian Dances
Dalibor Jedlicka , Vladimir Krejcik , Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra , Vienna State Opera Chorus , London Philharmonic Orchestra , and Elisabeth Söderström
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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Similar Items:
- Janacek - From the House of the Dead / Mackerras
- Leos Janácek: The Cunning Little Vixen - Lucia Popp / Eva Randová / Dalibor Jedlicka / Vienna Philharmonic / Vienna State Opera Chorus / Sir Charles Mackerras
- Janácek: Káta Kabanová
- Janacek: The Diary of One Who Disappeared
- Janacek: Jenufa / Mackerras, Soderstrom, et al
ASIN: B00000E4MF
Release Date: 1991-06-17 |
Tracks:
- Act I- Prelude
- Act I- Ach Je, Ach Boze!
- Act I- Tati, Ta Marty Je Ohromna
- Act I- Tady Prosim, Jenom Racte
- Act I- Konecne! ... Dobre, Gregore!
- Act I- Emilie! ... Pro Tebe Nejsem Emilie
- Act I- Nasli Jsme! Nasil!
- Act Ii- Videli Ty Kytice-
- Act Ii- Janku, Pojd' Sem!
- Act Ii- Dovolte, Dovolte, Prosim
- Act Ii- Dalsi. Kdo Mi Co Chce-
- Act Ii- Dovolte Mi Drive Otazku
- Act Ii- Tos Ty, Bertiku-
- Act Ii- To Jsi Ty, Bertiku-
- Act Iii- Nu- Slysite-
- Act Iii- Buenos Dias, Maxi!
- Act Iii- Pecitko S Inicialkou
- Act Iii- Pro Lekare!
- Lachian Dances- Starodavny I
- Lachian Dances- Dymak
- Lachian Dances- Starodavny Ii
- Lachian Dances- Celadensky
- Lachian Dances- Pilky
Customer Reviews:
Sounds pretty much like his other operas.......2006-04-18
I have listened to 2 other Janacek operas: Mackerras' Katya Kabanova (the 2nd version) and Haitink's Jenufa. Vec Makropulos sounds almost exactly like those other two. Elizabeth Soderstrom is particularly good. If you just love Janacek's operas then you'll probably love Vec Makropulos. But if your not quite that enthusiastic about them then skip this one because like I said it sounds pretty much like his others.
Correction to Product Details.......2006-04-12
The performance of Vec Makropulos is by the Vienna Philharmonic & its chorus, not the "Salzburg Vienna Philharmoniker," whatever that is (how can anyone make so many mistakes in only three words?).
As to the performance, it's stupendous. If the Vienna Philharmonic likes you as a conductor, it plays with an unearthly finesse and beauty. The sound on this CD is not a recording trick: I once heard the orchestra & choir live. Mackerras's series of Janacek operas with the VP is still regarded as the clear top choice, and when you hear one of them, you will know why.
I find this a particularly interesting piece of music. For example, the extremely puzzling off-stage timpany & brass group that "interferes" with the orchestra and provides a kind of odd counterpoint. The transformations of the theme this group plays pervade the opera.
THE recording of this important opera.......2005-05-02
Somatic immortality -- never-ending bodily life -- is not all it's cracked up to be. So learns Emilia Marty, an opera star dying in Prague in 1912. She was born Elina Makropulos, on Crete, in 1575, and became the victim of a life-extension experiment carried out by her father, a doctor, at the behest of his boss, Emperor Rudolph II.
Changing her name once a generation, but always with the initials E.M., and always beautiful, she has seduced countless men, broken countless hearts, and shriveled up inside. Having at last recovered her father's formula, she gives it up, saying to the mortals around her: "Fools, you are so blissful, just because you are going to die! You believe in humanity, in greatness, in love! There's nothing more you could wish for!" So she too finally dies, with the Greek version of the Our Father on her lips.
Elisabeth Soderstrom was one of the great sopranos of the 20th century. In her native Sweden she was one of those rare opera stars who becomes a pop culture heroine as well (not unlike Beverly Sills in the U.S.) Emilia Marty/Elina Makropulos was her favorite role. But she had a wide repertory, and also recorded most of the other major Janacek heroines, again under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras, who did more than any other conductor to popularize Janacek outside of Czechoslovakia.
Learn this opera, and start with this recording.
Una de las mejores óperas de Janacek.......2004-02-16
En esta maravillosa ópera, Leos Janacek mustra su lenguaje más duro y disonante concebido hasta entonces mostrando el camino hacia el que se dirigía al componer posteriormente Desde la casa de los Muertos. Como Kata Kavanova el Caso Makropulos esta lleno de profunda pasión, con alguna de la música más conmovedora que jamás escribió y alguna de la música más grande del siglo XX. Nuevamente encontramos la colaboración de la Filarmónica de Viena y de Sir Charles Mackerras, con una interpretación a la altura de las demás que han hecho de Janacek para Decca. Es una grabación remasterizada (fue lanzada en LP en 1979) pero con un sonido inconfundible de Decca. El preludio es maravilloso, una obra maestra de orquestación que nos da una introducción a la clase de música que vamos a escuchar a continuación. Elisabeth Soderstrom muestra nuevamente su afinidad a esta música, canta conmovedoramente y el resto de reparto es bastante sólido. Makropulos es la octava y penúltima ópera de Janacek, basada en una obra del escritor checo Karel Capek, producida en Praga de 1922, año en el que se desarrolla también la trama, contando la historia de una mujer llamada Elina Makropulos que cuenta con 337 años de edad, llamada a lo largo de su vida con diferentes nombres, todos iniciando con E. El "Caso" se refiere al secreto de su longevidad. En fin, a todos los interesados en la música de este gran compositor, esta ópera es altamente recomendable e indispensable en cualquier colección de Opera.
Excellent.......2003-07-30
This is fine recording of this rarely performed opera. Soderstrom specialized in Janacek and her performance is excellent. I think this opera contains some of Janacek's best music. In my experience, few are indifferent about Janacek; either its enthusiasm or disdain. For those who are enthusiastic, this recording is a fine investment.
Average customer rating:
- EARLY MACKERRAS - SHOCK OF THE NEW
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Janácek: Sinfonietta: Four Preludes
Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Dances
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| Bartók, Béla
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All Works by Brahms
| Brahms, Johannes
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| Dvorák, Antonín
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Enescu, Georges
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ASIN: B0000DG0DU
Release Date: 2004-01-13 |
Customer Reviews:
EARLY MACKERRAS - SHOCK OF THE NEW.......2007-03-28
We are indeed lucky to have lived through the times of Charles Mackerras. The man is a phenomenon. He was well before his time in the development of the authentic music movement with his still startling Fireworks Music with a full complement of woodwind (just about every oboist in London, recorded in the early hours of the morning) and with the use of elaborate authentic ornamentation in Handel and Mozart. He demonstrates a witty lighter side as an arranger of Gilbert and Sullivan. As Head of English National Opera there were memorable performances of Verdi and Wagner as well as rarities like Szymanowski, Smetana and Martinu. But, above all, it is probably as the man who brought the operas of Janacek to a British and then to a World audience that he will be most gratefully remembered.
This reissue is of an early Mackerras recording of Janacek, his first of the Sinfonietta, and made before a lot of the editorial cleaning-up for which Sir Charles was in large part responsible. Nevertheless, these are marvellous Janacek performances. There is a special freshness and a conviction about the playing of the Pro Arte Orchestra (a largely ad hoc ensemble with some fine soloists, especially among the woodwind). The acoustic is quite dry and the recording quite lean, which suits this music admirably. There is, for example, a crispness to the timps and a brightness to the brass in the opening and closing fanfares of the Sinfonietta that is more apt in this music than the more usual lushness we get from other conductors. Even Mackerras' later versions of the Sinfonietta with the Vienna and Czech Phils seem a little over-upholstered by comparison.
The opera preludes, too, revel in a sense of discovery and revelation. Whether it's the imperial fanfares of Makropoulos, more tight crisp timpani with the insistent Fate motif in Katya Kabanova or the hair-raisingly wild violin cadenzas in House of the Dead, both tempi and sound are perfectly judged in these performances. And Jealousy, the original prelude to Jenufa, is a fine work in its own right - even if Janacek's second thoughts work better in the context of the opera.
The fill-ups on this disc, not on the original LP, are more evidence of Mackerras' indefatigable versatility. The Enescu, especially, has great energy, flexibility and shape - but the Brahms, Dvorak and Bartok also show off Sir Charles as the master of the tempo juste, even in familiar music.
In short, the slightly dated sound suits Janacek's music well and Sir Charles' performances match anything he did later (and more than match anyone else). Most of all, there is a special sense of discovery about the composer here that carries well down the years.
Average customer rating:
- A magnificent sampler from Janacek's operas
- Wonderfully lush recording from Serebrier
- A Warning
- A Breathtaking Opera
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Leos Janacek: The Makropoulos Case / Cunning Little Vixen / Preludes
Manufacturer: Reference Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Janácek, Leos
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ASIN: B0000015AB
Release Date: 1996-10-22 |
Tracks:
- The Cunning Little Vixen Suite: Part 1
- The Cunning Little Vixen Suite: Part 2
- Jealousy
- From The House Of The Dead: Prelude
- The Makropulos Case: Act I
- The Makropulos Case: Act II
- The Makropulos Case: Act III
Customer Reviews:
A magnificent sampler from Janacek's operas.......2006-01-11
Some of the comments here are incoherent, but this 1996 CD has no vocal material on it, even though the music is derived from four of Janacek's operas. The conductor, Jose Serebrier, long associated with Janacek's music, was a protoge of Leopold Stokowski, who made once-popular "symphonic syntheses" of Wagner operas and Boris Godunov. Serebrier follows in his footsteps with a synthesis from The Makropoulos Case that takes up half of this hour-long CD. The short suite from The Cunning Little Vixen was made by the legendary Czech conductor Vaclav Talich. The two remaining short preludes come from Janacek's first and last operas, Jealousy and From the House of the Dead.
Janacek, like Bartok, began in the idiom of folk songs and peasant dance rhythms, only to find his own modernist voice. Of the two, Janacek remained more loyal to tonality; some of the music could have come from Korngold in a sober moment. The Jealousy music still sounds like advanced Dvorak, while the very late From the House of the Dead echoes the Sinfonietta. Massed brass appears in both works, along with soaring string lines and pummeling percussion. All these works are exciting and make one want to run to play the complete operas.
Refernce is an audiophile label; they don't disappoint here in the perfectly balanced, natural sound, which makes the provincial Brno orchestra sound as god as it possibly could. In all, an excellent sampler of Janacek's amazingly fertile imaginaiton.
Wonderfully lush recording from Serebrier.......2002-02-10
I have had this CD for over a year now and find that it has become one that I return to again and again. This recording of suites, preludes and orchestral syntheses from Janacek's operas reinforces my belief that Janacek was one of the most emotionally direct composers of the 19th & 20th centuries.
The music here spans over 25 years of Janacek's operatic career, from the prelude Jealousy - originally intended for Jenufa - to the Prelude to From the House of the Dead, Janacek's final work. Everything here is emotionally affecting, full of lush string passages and surging climaxes. To some extent, the mosaic-like structure of his instrumental works such as the Sinfonietta is lessened in conjunction with the dramatic organization of opera, giving these works a more Romantic, narrative-driven feeling - a different view of the composer for those like myself who know him best through the instrumental compositions.
The performance and recording are wonderfully warm. Serebrier handles these works very well. Highly recommended
A Warning.......2002-01-03
I ordered this CD because I thought it would contain The Makropoulos Case in its entirety; but NO, it actually contains only an orchestral suite derived from the opera! So now I've warned you; if you're looking for the whole Makropoulos Case, look somewhere else because it's not here, folks.
That being said, the CD sounds wonderful; very well played, so 5 stars for the musicians, 3 stars for the misleading packaging!
A Breathtaking Opera.......2001-01-27
I had never heard this piece of music, although I'd heard OF it several times before, having read a review of Jessye Norman's rendition with the Met about five years or so ago. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only recording currently in print, and it does not disappoint.
Serebrier's conducting is tight and sympathetic to the story of an egomaniacal diva who is, by all appearances, a beautiful, albeit vain, Dorian Gray (she's actually well over 300 years old). Her voice and her looks have brought her far, but she's now out of the potion she originally mixed up and drank three centuries before, and she faces the possibility that her 300 years may catch up with her. Throughout the rest of the opera, she spends her time trying to reproduce the formula, and by the fitting finale, she realizes that immortality wasn't exactly the cat's pajamas in the first place.
This is my first outing with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra since the dissolution of what once was Czechoslovakia; they carry on the tradition of a slick production that even the fiercest Soviet Bloc stalwart would be proud to add to his or her collection. The music is lush but without overpowering a strong vocal performance, and the digital post-performance processing leaves you with the warmth that you could (once upon a time) only reach through the recording on vinyl. Sigh...
If you enjoyed Janacek's "Taras Bulba," this is the obvious progression from there. Pick up a copy, close your eyes, and allow yourself to be transported.
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