Leos JANÁČEK (1854-1928)
Sonata for Violin and Piano [16:55]
Bedřich SMETANA (1824-1884)
From the Homeland: Two Pieces for Violin and Piano [11:09]
Sergey PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Sonata for Violin Solo, Op.115 [12:04]
Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in F minor, Op.80 [26:38]
Josef špaček (violin - Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, 1855) and Miroslav
Sekera (piano)
rec. Dvořák Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague, December 2012
SUPRAPHON SU 4129-2 [67:18]
When I met a fellow reviewer recently one thing we both agreed with wholeheartedly
was our love and admiration for the music of Janáček. Among my
Janáček favourites is his cycle for piano solo “On an Overgrown
Path”, his two string quartets, the 1.X.1905 piano sonata and
his Sinfonietta.
Zdeněk Nejedlý, a Czech musicologist and later a Minister of Culture
during Czechoslovakia’s communist period, was highly critical of Janáček,
regarding him as a composer who accumulated a lot of material but wasn’t
able to do anything with it, calling his style “unanimated”. You
do wonder sometimes what kind of ears some people have; certainly his were
not the same as mine for sure nor were they the same as the many who consider
Janáček as the greatest Czech composer of the twentieth century.
I know very little music that speaks as achingly as some of the pieces within
the “On an Overgrown Path” cycle. Therefore I was glad to have
this opportunity to get to know his Sonata for Violin and Piano better
for I always find that reviewing music forces me to listen more intently.
It dates from 1914-15 and followed two previous attempts at writing one, both
of which have been lost. How successful they were we’ll never know but
since Janáček was as fierce a critic of his own work as anyone
else could be the fact that this one survived to be published gives it a stamp
of approval from its author. If people like Nejedlý couldn’t
appreciate its value it was their loss.
In 1923 it was first performed in Frankfurt with no less a person than the
composer Paul Hindemith playing the violin part. It is unmistakably Janáček
with his characteristically bittersweet and heartfelt melodies and rather
spare writing; neither a note too many nor a note too few. What could Nejedlý
have been thinking of! Some say that the opening of the sonata is descriptive
of the anxiety over the beginning of the First World War and you can certainly
hear the expression of anxiety in the first movement. Janáček
spent seven years revising the work which was only completed to his satisfaction
in 1921. The second movement was the only one of the four to remain unchanged
and is a lilting and gentle depiction of pastoral calm - a complete contrast
to the restless nature of the opening movement with its uneasy dialogue between
the two instruments. The third movement is dominated by a folklike theme that
Janáček often employed. It’s a common trait amongst Czech
composers and with such a rich vein of folk music to draw on who could blame
them. The work closes with an Adagio with some beautiful passages for
both instruments. Of the chorale-like theme the composer said it depicts “the
Russian armies entering Hungary”.
Another criticism made of Janáček by Nejedlý was that his
music did not conform to the style of Smetana. A strange thing to say; why
should any composer’s music conform to the style of anyone else? The
reason I imagine is that Smetana is thought of as the father of Czech music
but why should a father’s “children” be expected to behave
as their clones; sterility is the result if there is no development.
As it happens it is Smetana’s music that follows on from Janáček
on the disc with what is sometimes described as the chamber equivalent of
his most well known work Ma Vlast (My Country) a work that has always
traditionally opened the Prague Spring Festival held each May. From the
Homeland: Two Pieces for Violin and Piano is a charming and typical folk
inspired work with dance themes that anyone who knows the area will recognise.
The rest of the disc that makes up more than half the total is of two works
by Prokofiev - a complete contrast to the music of the two Czech nationalist
composers. The first is his Sonata for Violin Solo, Op.115 written
in 1947 with the idea that it could be performed by one or several violinists.
It was inspired by his watching as 20 students at the Moscow Conservatory
performed Bach’s Partita No.3 in perfect harmony. It is a sunny
work full of joie de vivre with dancing rhythms throughout and Prokofiev’s
characteristically wry humour permeating the proceedings. I imagine that it
is quite tricky to ensure that all the contrasting speeds are maintained as
per instructions. It is a measure of a violinist’s skill to produce
a really convincing performance which this certainly is. The final movement
in particular is played by špaček with huge bravura. The Sonata
for Violin and Piano No.1 in F minor, Op.80 is, by contrast, very dark
but no less thrilling in its own way with a beauty occasioned by its emotive
power. Prokofiev ensures that the piano plays as powerfully muscular a role
as does the violin and each is perfectly matched to produce a richly rewarding
sound that is deeply satisfying.
I’ve said before how much I love Prokofiev precisely because he is not
easy to anticipate where he’s going with a theme. He works to his own
logic and not to one that can be predicted - at least, I should say, not by
me. I have a particular love for the opening of the third movement which is
absolutely gorgeous as well as wistful; it’s no wonder that, unlike
what the adverts said about Heineken lager in the 1980s and 1990s, music really
can refresh the parts that other (things) cannot reach! The
final movement is not as dark as the first two movements but is rather playful.
In its closing moments seems to be rushing headlong towards its exit only
to put the brakes on to finish in a restrained manner of little more than
a whisper.
It seems that špaček has played the Smetana and the Prokofiev sonata
for violin and piano countless times, including for his successful participation
in the International Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels (2012) where
he was Laureate, and I must say it shows since he plays with great maturity.
He is partnered by an extremely gifted pianist Miroslav Sekera and the two
seem to have created a very effective duo and they are totally in touch with
each other at all times. I found the disc enjoyable from start to finish.
Steve Arloff
I found this enjoyable from start to finish.
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