Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen

I love it, with the ending I always start crying so much... Janacek is THE misunderstood genius of musical theater from the early 1900s. Today much more is being done, fortunately

Ettore wrote:

Despite not liking Janacek

Why is that?

Rotore wrote:

Why is that?

... I find it too "violent"

Ettore wrote:

... I find it too "violent"

I think it is the only work in which the tenor must be a dog (Lapak).

It is a very funny job that can surely reconcile Janacek to people traumatized by Katya Kabanova or Jenufa (not that Katya Kabanova is funny... I ask: are there any operas that end well?).

I explained myself poorly; by "violent" I meant his music, not his subjects. What I had listened to so far was too full of brass, of very sharp sounds, which bother me a bit and which I also find in other composers such as Liszt and Stravinsky.

In these brass pieces, there are none. It also seems much more interesting to me than Liszt (not Stravinsky, clearly).

...even if expressionism is inherent in his poetics.

Open content (youtube)

Open content (youtube)

Well, I was talking about the pieces that I personally heard... I certainly cannot say that there is an abundance of brass in all of his works, but then it's not just that; it's the very harsh character that I find in his music that doesn't fully captivate me.

Ettore wrote:

the very harsh character I find in his music that doesn't quite capture me.

It is present a bit everywhere but combined with moments of unsuspected and disarming sweetness; try listening to the links, especially the Piano Sonata, the second theme of the first movement.

Also the entire suite "On the Path of the Brambles," which is quite long and articulated, is representative in this sense. It is perhaps his work most closely related to certain nineteenth-century production... the Sonata, on the other hand, is very difficult.