大象传媒

Donald Macleod explores Jan谩膷ek's tangled relationship with his wife, with music including the Zdenka Variations and his first quartet for strings.

One of the most original voices of the twentieth century, Leo拧 Jan谩膷ek was a composer, musical theorist, folklorist and teacher. Born in 1854 in the Moravian village of Hukvaldy, which was then part of the Austrian Empire, in his youth German was the language of government, education and social influence. Having returned from studies in Germany, Jan谩膷ek made detailed studies of native folk song and spent years annotating the natural rhythms of the Czech language. He was to write all his works for stage in his native language. The range of his professional activities gave him a range of outlets to voice what quickly became a life-long commitment to Czech culture.

Jan谩膷ek was a contradictory man, who spent much of his life feeling at odds with his circumstances. Through five of his closest relationships, Donald Macleod builds a picture of how his inner tensions found expression in his music. The longest and most fractured of his associations was with his German-speaking wife Zdenka. After a shaky start, he grew very close to his daughter Olga, with whom he shared his love of Russian literature. His friendship with the literary collaborator Max Brod proved to be the turning point in his quest for professional standing, while his muse Kamila St枚sslova became the joy and agony of his later, creatively enriched years. As a young man Jan谩膷ek turned to Anton铆n Dvo艡谩k. They shared an interest in folk music, and the older composer proved to be a loyal friend and mentor.

Jan谩膷ek met his future wife when he was employed by her father to give her piano lessons. The differences between Zdenka鈥檚 comfortable upbringing and his impoverished childhood were marked, and once they married it wasn鈥檛 too long before resentments began to surface.

Lave膷ka (The Bench)
Martina Jankov谩, soprano
Ivo Kah谩nek, piano

Theme with variations (Zdenka variations)
Jan Bart贸s, piano

Amarus (3rd movement)
V铆lem P艡ibyl, tenor
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Czech Philharmonic Choir
V谩clav Neumann, conductor

Janacek, rev. Mackerras
The Cunning Little Vixen Orchestral Suite JW 1/9
II: The Vixen at the Gamekeeper鈥檚 Farmyard.
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor

Quartet no.1 (The Kreutzer Quartet)
The Pavel Haas Quartet