Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, František Jílek - Janáček: Orchestral Works III - Sinfonietta, Violin Concerto, The Danube, Schluck und Jau (2006)

While by no means the only recording of the glorious Sinfonietta one should hear -- among others, try the Mackerras and Vienna Philharmonic, the Belohlávek and Czech Philharmonic, or the Kubelík and Bavarian Radio -- anyone who loves Janácek will want to hear the rest of the performances on this disc of orchestral works by Janácek. Frantisek Jilek and the Brno Philharmonic recorded the Sinfonietta in 1986 and it was greeted with polite dismissal. But Jilek and the Brnonians recorded the remainder of the music on this disc in 1992 and while it might be too much to say that either had improved beyond all recognition -- the intonation of the strings, the fruity tone of the clarinets, the occasional cracks in the trumpets, and Jilek's tendency to lose his train of thought are all of a piece -- their dedication and enthusiasm almost make up for it. Why? Because the rest of the music on this disc is first-class second-class Janácek. The "Danube" is second-class only because Janácek never finished it, but as Jilek and the Brnonians prove, the rest is truly a first-class trip down the river of the title. "The Wandering of a Little Soul" is second-class only because Janácek later turned it into the Prelude from his magnificent opera From the House of the Dead, but as this performance by violinist Ivan Zenaty demonstrates, in the right hands it's tremendously compelling. The two pieces from Janácek's incidental music to Schluck und Jau is second-class only in that it's incidental music, but as Jilek and the Brnonians establish, Janácek's music is so consummately dramatic that it cannot help but be gripping. Supraphon's sound is big and colorful.