The interesting work here, because it is seldom heard, is the delightful Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra, written in 1925 when Janacek was 71. It has wonderful textures and rhythms with exuberance and energy and is given a superb performance here by Kubelik’s compatriot the great Czech pianist Rudolf Firkusny.
Kubelik was a great champion of his countrymen’s music and played it all over the world, including on his visits to Australia. He was a very musical interpreter, not interested in show but on purely musical values and was often accused of being a bit dull when compared to many more flashy and self-promoting Maestros.
Having said that I found these performances of the wonderful Sinfonietta and the suite from Taras Bulba to be among the most impressive and dynamic I know and I have some great performances of these including Karel Ancerl, Sir Charles Mackerras (4) and Jiri Belohlavek. These are all very idiomatic being with the Czech Philharmonic; the earlier Mackerras recordings were done in Vienna and London and a live one in Sydney released last year.
What Kubelik has done is transform the usually very Germanic sound of the Bavarian Radio Symphony into a Czech style with much crisper phrasing and dynamic tuttis. The usually woolly brass tone is brighter and more exciting and dynamic than one usually hears from German playing.
The Taras Bulba is terrific and builds to an impressive finale with great weight of tone and powerful timpani, even better than the recording he made with the Royal Philharmonic in the early sixties for HMV.
This is also a magnificent performance of the Sinfonietta with impeccable balances, so hard to achieve in the really noisy bits with twelve trumpets, huge brass and woodwind sections.
I think this is a terrific bargain despite it only being 61 minutes long but then look at the price you are paying for Eloquence and listen to the quality of the performances and the superbly re-mastered recordings and it’s a no-brainer.