# Janáček - Sinfonietta



## MattTheTubaGuy

this is my current favourite piece, I just love it so much!

Who else likes this fantastic piece of music?


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## Tapkaara

It's a somewhat difficult work but wholly original and damn-near brilliant. It took me some time to warm up to it but I think it's likely a masterpiece.


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## DaveWWW

I love that piece. I played the first movement back in the early 80's (timpani) with the Dalhousie Brass Ensemble (Halifax, NS). I went out and bought the Seji Ozawa/Chicago recording and now own the CD. It's one of my favorites. I think it's an extremely accessible piece for those wanting to venture into 20th century music.

David


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## Brahmsipoo

I would love to hear that piece with the Chicago Symphony, especially their famous brass section. I live in Chicago most of the year, and see them perform at least once per week while they're in season. They always amaze me on pieces that are brass-heavy: Wagner, Mahler, Shostakovich (especially the 11th, which I saw last March with Dutoit), etc.

I only have this recorded with Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony. I enjoy this recording, but would like to get another to gain a greater understanding of it.


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## superhorn

I love the Sinfonietta too, and have been a Janacek fan for many years.
The Rafael Kubelik/DG recording with the Bavarian Radio orchestra is one of the best;I remember it from LP days,when it was coupled with an equally great performance of Taras Bulba,another marvelous Janacek work. Other fine recordings are Mackerrras/Vienna on Decca,Vaclav Neumann /Czech Philharmonic on Supraphon,and for a bargain, Ondrej Lenard and the Czechoslovak Radio orchestra on Naxos.


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## Weston

My first introduction to Sinfonietta was this:






Needless to say I was a little shocked at how subtle the real one is. It still comes across as almost a chamber piece compared to a full symphony. It's a very intimate piece considering how much brass and how many fanfares it incorporates.


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## Niebolaz

Yes, it's a great piece. Probably the most accessible work I ever heard, chock full of great themes and tasty folkyness. It also has that amazing, almost metaphysical ending with waves of brass and winds fluttering in the background, very similar to the one in Taras Bulba.


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## anshuman

MattTheTubaGuy said:


> this is my current favourite piece, I just love it so much!
> 
> Who else likes this fantastic piece of music?


I got introduced to Janacek through the Sinfonietta. I thank my stars for such luck as he is bit difficult for me to absorb esp. after Dvorak who is a great favourite of mine. A truly great work and comes as a breath of fresh air after Dvorak's romantic valorization of the folk idiom. After the Sinfonietta it becomes easier to appreciate Bartok and Kodaly.


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## Sid James

Unfortunately, it's (apparently) rarely performed live because of the huge brass section Janacek demands. It's somewhat ironic that he called it a small symphony because the forces it requires are pretty colossal. This is a great piece for those who are just beginning to get into his music. As noted above, it has many similarities with his _Taras Bulba_. I have the_ Sinfonietta_ played by the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra (ORF) conducted by Milan Horvat. It is coupled with Dvorak's fifth symphony. This Point Classics cd is apparently now out of print (saw it for something like $50 on amazon, but I originally got it in a liquidation sale for $2!)...


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## Mike Saville

It is a fantastic piece - really reliant on good brass playing . . . . . . . .which was rather unfortunate, when on one occasion I did a recording for Classic FM and the (nameless) Tenor Tubas made a complete 'pigs ear' of the opening few bars.


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