The Classical Music Book

263

See also: The Bartered Bride 206 ■ Dvorˇ ák’s Symphony No. 9 212–215 ■

Bartók’s String Quartet No. 5 270–271 ■ Spartacus 309

C

zech composer Leoš

Janá cˇ ek’s Sinfonietta has

an unforgettable, rousing

start, with more than two minutes

of brass fanfares. This then gives

way to four further movements—

each evoking parts of Janá cˇ ek’s

native Brno—that culminate in

a final round of fanfares from

the orchestra’s expanded brass

section. Originally titled Military

Sinfonietta, the piece captures

the brash sound and atmosphere

of a military band, including a

blazing trombone solo and bold

solo trumpets.

Musical salute

A sinfonietta is an orchestral work,

shorter and lighter in tone than a

symphony. The 71-year-old Janá cˇ ek

composed his for a gymnastics

festival in Prague in the summer

of 1926, two years before his death.

For the patriotic Janá cˇ ek, his work

saluted his nation’s rebirth as an

independent country following

centuries of subjugation under the

Habsburg Empire. Dedicated to the

Czech armed forces, the Sinfonietta

celebrated “the contemporary

free man, his spiritual beauty

and joy, his strength, courage, and

determination to fight for victory.”

Another source of inspiration,

however, was Janá cˇ ek’s passionate

friendship with a married woman

37 years his junior, Kamila

Stösslová. The composer reportedly

had the idea for the fanfares that

open and close the Sinfonietta after

sitting with her in a park listening

to a military band give a concert. ■

MODERN 1900 –1950

I COME WITH THE

YOUTHFUL SPIRIT OF

MY COUNTRY, WITH

YOUTHFUL MUSIC

SINFONIETTA ( 1926 ), LEOŠ JANÁ^ CˇEK

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Czech nationalism

BEFORE

1879 Smetana’s cycle of

symphonic poems, Má vlast

(My Country), is an expression

of musical nationalism, each

poem evoking a different

Czech place or legend.

1886 Czech and Moravian

folk music inspires Dvorˇá k’s

Slavonic Dances for piano duet,

whose popularity helps to

launch his international career.

AFTER

1938 Janá cˇ ek’s pupil Pavel

Haas’s opera Šarlatán (The

Charlatan) premieres in Brno,

influenced by Moravian folk

music and Gregorian chant.

1955 Bohuslav Martinu ̊ ’s

chamber cantata, The

Opening of the Wells, is the

first of a cycle of cantatas

inspired by his native

Moravian highlands.

My Military Sinfonietta

with the fanfares will

be played at the Sokol rally.

Do you remember the

Písek fanfares?

Leoš Janá cˇ ek

US_262-263_Poulenc_Janacek.indd 263 27/03/18 4:49 PM