Prazak Quartet, Slávka Vernerová Pěchočová, Milan - Leoš Janáček: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 (2014/2022)

Unusual last Janáček chamber programme : the vital string quartets but also the Concertino, an adventurous, amazingly experimental work. Its 'programme' recalls the naturalism and anthropomorphisms of the adventures of the Cunning Little Vixen. The concluding Allegro, opening with an unpredictable, almost swaggering recitative, is progressively hinged on an increasingly rapid rhythm that leads to a popular scene of jubilation that foreshadows the fanfares of the Glagolitic Mass.
"Three works of chamber music by Leos Janacek (1854-1928). The String Quartet N°1 “Kreutzer Sonata” based on Tolstoy which the composer “approaches like an opera without words, a psychological drama where each instrument can be a voice, can become a character full of expression, capable of following the most direct lingual prosody, from the lover’s lament to the cry,” states Pierre-Emile Barbier. The String Quartet N°2 “Intimate Letters,” which was addressed to Kamila Stösslova, Janacek last love: “I have begun to write something beautiful. It will contain our life. I am calling it “Love Letters.” A single instrument will be the means of expression during the whole work….” Later, Janacek would finish by adopting the subtitle we know today. The Concertino for Piano and Six Instruments dating from 1925 calls for two violins, a viola, a clarinet, a French horn, and a bassoon. With evocative power rarely heard in these admirable pages, the Prazak Quartet offers a confoundingly natural musical discourse by find the perfect balance between passion and melancholy. Each and every musician is praiseworthy and in exemplary artistic communion."
Tracklist
01. String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata": I. Adagio. Con moto
02. String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata": II Con moto
03. String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata": III. Con moto. Vivace. Andante. Tempo I
04. String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata": IV. Con moto
05. Concertino for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, Clarinet, French Horn and Bassoon: I. Moderato
06. Concertino for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, Clarinet, French Horn and Bassoon: II. Più mosso
07. Concertino for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, Clarinet, French Horn and Bassoon: III. Con moto
08. Concertino for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, Clarinet, French Horn and Bassoon: IV. Allegro
09. String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters": I. Andante - Con moto - Allegro
10. String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters": II. Adagio - Vivace - Andante - Presto - Allegro - Vivo - Adagio
11. String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters": III. Moderato - Adagio - Allegro
12. String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters": IV. Allegro - Andante - Con moto - Adagio - Tempo I