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Donald Macleod catches up with Janacek in his 70th birthday year - a period when the composer was well on the way to emotional ruin.

Forget pipe and slippers. In 1924, Leos Janacek (1854-1928) careened into his eighth and final decade with an almost rock star-like abandon: sleepwalking through his own personal erotic fantasy as his personal life crashed catastrophically around him. His was in love: infatuated to the point of madness with a woman nearly four decades younger, the very much married Mrs Kamila Stösslová.

1 hour

Last on

Mon 22 Feb 201022:00

Music Played

  • Leos Janáček

    March Of The Blue Boys, for piccolo and piano (1924)

    Performer: Roberto Fabbriciani (piccolo) Performer: Massimiliano Damerini (piano)

    • ARTS MUSIC 47557-2.
    • 1.
  • Leos Janáček

    String Quartet no.1 "The Kreutzer Sonata" (1923-4)

    Performer: Talich Quartet

    • CALLIOPE CAL 9333.
  • Leos Janáček

    Mladi ("Youth") (excerpt) (1924)

    Performer: Members of the London Sinfonietta Performer: David Atherton

    • DECCA 4303752.
  • Leos Janáček

    The Cunning Little Vixen (Act I excerpt) (1921-23, fp 1924) '

    Performer: Thomas Allen (forester, baritone) Performer: Stephen Wallder (cricket) Performer: Shelley Nash (caterpillar) Performer: Robert Tear (mosquito) Performer: Piers Laurence (frog) Performer: Rebecca Bainbridge (Vixen cub) Performer: Lillian Watson (Vixen, soprano) Performer: Gillian Knight (forester's wife, contralto) Performer: Karen Shelby (dog) Performer: Mary King (rooster) Performer: Glenys Groves (chief hen) Performer: Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Performer: Sir Simon Rattle

    • CHANDOS CHAN31301.

Broadcasts

  • Mon 22 Feb 201012:00
  • Mon 22 Feb 201022:00

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