Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

On this CD:

1. String Quartet No. 1 ("Kreutzer"), JW 7/8
Composed by Leos Janacek


2. String Quartet No. 2 ("Listy duverné," "Intimate Letters"), JW 7/13
Composed by Leos Janacek


Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2, Music, Leos Janacek, Melos Quartet, Chamber, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Music, Quartet for Four String Instruments
Janácek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Janacek at white heat
  • If you like Bartok...
  • 4 interesting pieces from the czech composer
 Janácek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Leos Janácek: Piano Works
  2. Smetana: String Quartets 1 & 2 / From My Homeland
  3. String Quartets 3
  4. Janacek: Sinfonietta Op60; Taras Bulba, rhapsody
  5. Ives: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-4

ASIN: B0000060D0
Release Date: 1998-05-26

Tracks:

  1. String Quartet No.1, 'Kreutzer Sonata': I. Adagio con moto
  2. String Quartet No.1, 'Kreutzer Sonata': II. Con moto
  3. String Quartet No.1, 'Kreutzer Sonata': III. Con moto: Vivace - Andante
  4. String Quartet No.1, 'Kreutzer Sonata': IV. Con moto: Adagio
  5. String Quartet No.2, 'Intimate Letters': I. Andante con moto - Allegro
  6. String Quartet No.2, 'Intimate Letters': II. Adagio - Vivace
  7. String Quartet No.2, 'Intimate Letters': III. Moderato - Adagio- Allegro
  8. String Quartet No.2, 'Intimate Letters': IV. Allegro - Andante- Adagio
  9. Sonata for Violin and Piano: I. Con moto
  10. Sonata for Violin and Piano: II. Ballada
  11. Sonata for Violin and Piano: III. Allegretto
  12. Sonata for Violin and Piano: IV. Adagio
  13. Pohadka (Fairy Tale) For Cello And Piano: I. Con moto
  14. Pohadka (Fairy Tale) For Cello And Piano: II. Con moto
  15. Pohadka (Fairy Tale) For Cello And Piano: III. Allegro

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Janacek at white heat.......2003-12-28

This was my first serious venture into Janacek and I wasn't disappointed. Impressive as Dvorak and Smetana's quartets are, frankly Janacek packs more intensity and white heat into his music, and also manages to "push the bounds" of music a little bit more. The Second String Quartet ("Intimate Letters", 1928) was one of his last compositions and represents the full development of his art. Its genesis was tied to his obsessive love affair with the singer Kamila Stosslova, and thus had great personal meaning for him, although unfortunately he died before he could ever hear it performed. As he wrote to her, "I have succeeded in writing a piece in which the earth begins to tremble. Here I can find a place for my most beautiful melodies." Likewise, the ravagingly beautiful First String Quartet ("Kreutzer Sonata", 1923) was inspired by another passionate love story, Leo Tolstoy's tale of love's destructive power. This is electric stuff.

While Janacek was never QUITE as "folksy" as Dvorak, he often dipped into Moravian folk tunes and transposed Slavic-inspired stories into music. The "Pohadka" (Fairy Tale) for cello and piano was based on Russian poet Vassily Zhukovsky's epic poem of the Kashchei, Ruler of the Underworld (Stravinsky later took up this same story in the "Firebird" Suite). Like the Sonata for Violin and Piano, this piece reminded me a lot of Bartok's early adaptations of Hungarian folkmusic, even with the liberal dose of Janacek's distinctive Czech idiom.

This is a lucid and intense performance by the Vlach Quartet. "Budget" be damned. Five stars.

5 out of 5 stars If you like Bartok..........2001-01-02

I'm a Janacek fan with a working cd player, and I certainly haven't got money to burn. I'd just like to proffer a rather more enthusiastic review. First, these works are widely considered to be masterworks in the string quartet repertory. Second, the Vlach Quartet's rendering is in my view excellent, though I don't claim to have heard other performances: certainly, this ensemble has received very good reviews from professional critics. Third, the sound quality is about as good as my working cd player will permit! Nice liner notes, too, and attractive fillers (I mean the violin sonata and the pohadka). In short, an excellent choice for anyone with an eye for a bargain and a taste for hardcore string quartets (late Beethoven, Bartok, Shostakovich, Berg...). And if you like this sort of stuff, maybe you'll also like Purcell's Fantasias, Bach's Cello Suites, Reich's Different Trains, and/or Ram Narayan on sarangi. Though did I hear you say you don't know what a sarangi is?

4 out of 5 stars 4 interesting pieces from the czech composer.......2000-12-28

if you're a janacek fan with very little money and a working cd player this may be the disc for you. i'm not overly familiar with the composer's work myself and wouldnt exactly say this disc made me a convert but it is well worth a listen. not exactly my cuppa tea since i generally listen to string quartets when i'm trying to brood over the meaning of life and whatnot but still these are some pleasant, high energy pieces well played by prague's very own vlach quartet. sound recording is alright, it aint mind-blowing but what exactly do you expect for this price?
Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Average customer rating: 2 out of 5 stars
  • you said ...Janacek ?
 Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Leos Janacek , and Melos Quartet
Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Janácek, LeosJanácek, Leos | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000JKFJ
Release Date: 1999-07-13

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars you said ...Janacek ?.......2005-05-31


Sorry! I'm not a fan of the janacek Quartet
Sorry mr Janacek!
Janacek: String Quartets, Nos. 1 & 2/Youth, Suite For Wind Sextet
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Janacek: String Quartets, Nos. 1 & 2/Youth, Suite For Wind Sextet
    Vlach Quartet Prague , Foerster Woodwind Quintet , Bohumil Opat , Josef Horak , Leos Janacek , Radomir Pivoda , Otto Kopecky , Josef Kodousek , Josef Vlach , Vaclav Snitil , Frantisek Svoboda , and Viktor Moucka
    Manufacturer: Panton
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
    SextetsSextets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
    Janácek, LeosJanácek, Leos | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    ASIN: B000004AI0
    Release Date: 1996-11-19
    String Quartets Nos 1 & 2
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		String Quartets Nos 1 & 2
      Janacek , and Belcea Quartet
      Manufacturer: Zig Zag Territoires
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
      ClassicalClassical | Imports | Stores | Music
      ASIN: B00005NBO4
      Release Date: 2004-07-27
      Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2;Dvorak: Cypresses
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2;Dvorak: Cypresses
        Davis , and New Helsinki Quartet
        Manufacturer: Apex
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
        ASIN: B00005QHU7
        Release Date: 2006-05-24
        Janácek: String Quartets 1-2
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          		Janácek: String Quartets 1-2

          Manufacturer: Calliope Records
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
          Janácek, LeosJanácek, Leos | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
          ASIN: B000027LPR
          Release Date: 1995-09-01
          Leos Janácek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            		Leos Janácek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

            Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi
            ProductGroup: Music
            Binding: Audio CD

            QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
            GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
            Janácek, LeosJanácek, Leos | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
            GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
            ASIN: B000000781
            Release Date: 1992-12-09

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