Jan Martinik reviews
Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen; Sinfonietta
Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, et al; LSO/Simon Rattle (LSO Live)
Dvořák: Requiem, Biblical Songs, Te Deum
Prague Philharmonic Choir; Czech Philharmonic/Jakub Hrusa, et al (Decca)
Janáček: Glagolitic Mass; Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba & The Fiddler’s Child
Hibla Gerzmava, Veronika Hajnová, Stuart Neill, Jan Martiník, Aleš Bárta; Prague Philharmonic Choir; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jiří Bělohlávek (Decca)
Martinů: What Men Live By; Symphony No. 1
Ivan Kusnjer, Petr Svoboda, Jan Martiník, Lucie Silkenová, Ester Pavlů, Lukáš Mareček; Czech Philharmonic/Jiři Bělohlávek (Supraphon)
Honeck directs The Epic of Gilgamesh
From 1940 until his death in 1959, having lost both his Czech homeland and his beloved composer-muse Vitezslava Kaprálová who died aged only 25, Bohuslav Martinů was preoccupied with thoughts of death and possible transfiguration.