Repertoire: The BEST and WORST Janáček Sinfonietta

David! Very pleased to hear you mention, with gusto!, Maestro Serebrier’s 2-disc Janacek on Reference Recordings. We are very proud of these recordings and welcome music lovers to discover them.

These videos where you play portions of the music and point out specific things before (and after) are so incredibly helpful! I know they must be some work to make, but please know that they are incredibly interesting and informative to me (and I’m sure, others too)!

Dave, your passion is infectious. Thanks a million.

The first time I ever heard this was at a conservatory orchestra concert, and my impression was like discovering gold. "Where have I been?"

We have Solti to thank for Mackerras's Janacek. Solti and Mackerras were very close friends. They holidayed together etc. After Decca's "Ring" cycle with Solti, Decca asked Solti to record a Janacek cycle with the VPO .Solti said_"I know nothing of this composer. You should ask the conductor Charles Mackerras who knows everything about Janacek." Decca did. The rest is history...

If there is one composer which really creates a new universe it's Janacek. The first time I heard music of him - Zápisník zmizelého (The Diary of One Who Disappeared) - it was the discovery of something that I never thought could even exist!

I was so looking forward to this video...the Sinfonietta is probably my single favorite work in the whole classical repertoire. My current favorite (which I got for a steal on LP just a couple of weeks ago is Bakala with the Czech Phil. Such ballsy brass! I’m a man obsessed. I will give Wit a listen, I quite enjoy all of his performances you’ve mentioned. Ancerl is wonderful too but not quite as bold and brave I think. Serebrier is very, very good and you get so much good stuff with it.

Dave, your insightful analysis gave me a deeper understanding of a piece I have always loved. For many years my "reference" recording of the Sinfonietta was the old (and great) Ancerl version. Thinking I needed to add a new and better-sounding recording of it to my library, I followed the advice of the "Penguin Guide" and obtained the Rattle version, coupled with the Glagolitic Mass. Boy, was I disappointed! After only one hearing I gave that recording to the local library and purchased the Wit version on Naxos, with which I am very satisfied (and the Mass coupling is equally fine). Your negative comments about the Rattle were right on target, as were your positive ones about the Wit.

When you pulled up the Serebrier on Reference Recordings I knew I could rest easy. Stunning disc.

Darn it, getting me to buy more recordings

Once I heard the Kubelik recording, I could never go back to any others. That's how good it is.

Glorious! Like the music he loves, Hurwitz pours out a paean to life itself: the life of the soul, expressed in sound. Deeply perceptive, witty and wry by turns, incisive but never malicious, his words send one back to the music itself, refreshed and purified: prepared to listen hard: because music matters: and it matters that it be made surpassingly well. Many thanks for so kindly enkindling this passionate conviction in our souls, dear friend. Look to much more to come!

Thanks for turning me on to the Kubelik Sinfonietta. I love my Mackerras/VPO but I was ready for something different. Both of Kubelik's---the DG and the Orfeo are marvellous! Also, I've never been a huge fan of Taras Bulba but Kubelik has now made me a believer! What a performance!

How could there be a better video review of Janacek's Sinfonietta! Absolutely amazing (so detailed). I ordered a bunch of CD's. I ran across Janacek while going through the Szell big box that I bought as per your other video. you should have a show on Sirius -educational, reviews, etc. etc. Thanks so much for all you do! I am going broke but learning a ton!

Thank you. I have not heard those. I do have CSO and Cleveland Orchestra recordings. The last chapter heading of your video here mentions the "Burnout Philharmonic".

It really warmed my heart to see you do an episode of the Janacek Sinfonietta. I went to listen to the Mackerras/Pro Arte recording and got the added bonus of the Weinberger Polka and Fugue from Schwanda. Reiner/CSO was the version I would usually listen to because no orchestra had better brass, but I always thought the recording was a little sterile. Mackerras lets the orchestra swing a little and it was way more enjoyable even if he didn't have Bud Herseth on trumpet. But thanks for giving me a whole evening worth of entertainment Dave!!!!

ELP’s first self-titled album was my first exposure to Janacek and Bartok on the tracks Knife -Edge and The Barbarian. I later did attempt to learn Bartok’s Allegro Barbaro as a piano student.

Thanks David! I found all of the recordings on apple music. Can't wait to hear new interpretations of this work. I especially like when they "whack the crap" out of the timpani at the beginning.

David, thank you for this chat on one of my absolute favorite works that went by very quickly! I love the Kubelik recording too, especially the ending which is just thrilling to my ears. When you mentioned (at 21:02) the moment in the 3rd movement where the horns play those top two notes it reminded me of the NY Phil/Masur Sinfonietta. The horns "shamelessly" let loose those notes in that recording. (that is at 3:36 in that movement of that recording).

Thanks for the really informative talk on Sinfonietta. I've been enjoying the piece for decades without realizing things like the repeated ten note motif. Now, I enjoy and admire the piece even more. One of the reasons that the Serebrier/Czech State Philharmonic (Brno) may not gained much traction is a review in Fanafare by your former colleague Peter J. Rabinowitz which really panned the recording.