This second volume of Leos Janácek's orchestral works by the fine and sympathetic Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner is necessarily something of a mixed bag, with a couple of unfinished works, several pieces that more or less qualify as obscurities, and just one repertory work, the symphonic poem Taras Bulba, JW VI/15. That work from the World War I years is vintage Janácek, a programmatic evocation of scenes from Nikolai Gogol's epic novel that has the composer's trademark mixture of vividness and ...
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This second volume of Leos Janácek's orchestral works by the fine and sympathetic Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner is necessarily something of a mixed bag, with a couple of unfinished works, several pieces that more or less qualify as obscurities, and just one repertory work, the symphonic poem Taras Bulba, JW VI/15. That work from the World War I years is vintage Janácek, a programmatic evocation of scenes from Nikolai Gogol's epic novel that has the composer's trademark mixture of vividness and compression. But for the Janácek fan there isn't a dull moment here. The short Jealousy was a discarded prelude to the opera Jenufa and is closely linked to it in mood if not in motive. Several completions have been offered for Janácek's late single-movement, transparently textured Violin Concerto ("The Wandering of a Little Soul"), and each one militates in favor of more frequent performances for the work; violinist James Ehnes is superior here, with a sharp, tense sound that fits Janácek...
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