Episode 2
Donald Macleod presents music of the open air, and the story of a woman six centuries old - in Janacek's Concertino for piano and opera The Makropoulos Affair.
In today's episode, Donald Macleod explores music of the open air - and the story of a woman six centuries old...
Janacek's "Danube" symphony was left unfinished at his death - all that remains of a planned trip down the river with his beloved Kamila that never came to fruition. Meanwhile, the composer's Concertino for piano stands as one of his most charming works - full of filigree flourishes and charming melodies inspired by a spring spent in the idyllic countryside of Eastern Czechoslovakia.
We end with the climactic scene of the composer's penultimate opera - the tragic case of Emila Marty, doomed to live forever, in the legal drama "The Makropoulos Affair".
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Music Played
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Leos Janáček
Dunaj ("Danube") - Symphony in Four Movements (mid 1920s)
Performer: Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra Performer: Frantisek Jilek
- SUPRAPHON 1115222.
Broadcasts
- Tue 23 Feb 201012:00BBC Radio 3
- Tue 23 Feb 201022:00BBC Radio 3
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