Janacek: Taras Bulba

Many seasoned conductors keep returning to Janácek’s symphonic works – owing to their sparkling expressiveness, colourful emotions and lucid purity drawn deep from the wellspring of folk music.

Jakub Hruša proves that fascination with Janácek’s music applies to the youngest generation of conductors too.

The recording opens with six ebullient Lachian Dances and when it comes to The Cunning Little Vixen, Jakub Hruša has chosen the rarely performed version of the Suite arranged by František Jílek, a connoisseur of Janácek’s ouvre. His Suite retains Janácek’s original instrumentation and spans the trajectory of the opera’s action.

The recording is crowned by the rhapsody for orchestra Taras Bulba. Janácek’s initial title for the work – Slavonic Rhapsody – reflects not only national but also Slavonic pride, which is celebrated here in the character of the fearless Cossack leader Taras Bulba.

Janácek masterfully succeeded in transposing his fascination with the culture of Tsarist Russia into a composition which on this CD is undertaken by a young conductor fascinated in turn by Janácek’s work.