The Many Passions of Leo Janek – 4 CD

This four-CD collection presents an original selection from the work of Leo Janek, assembled to mark the 95th anniversary of the composers death. Following the well-received compilation The Many Loves of Antonn Dvok, Patrick Lambert, a longtime music producer for BBC 3 and a leading expert on and admirer of Czech music and its recordings, was invited to create a similar series devoted to the Moravian master. The title reflects Janeks temperament, while the selection results from an in-depth examination of his personality and the wide range of emotions with which he approached lifes transformations. The programme is organised into eight categories described as Janeks passions: Folk Tradition; The Czech CausePolitics and Patriotism; Family; Life and Nature; Friendship with Dvok; Women; Russian Literature; and Religious Roots. Alongside famous works such as Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba, the Glagolitic Mass, Jenfa and The Cunning Little Vixen, it includes numerous discoveries that place Janeks work in context, including his choral pieces Seventy Thousand and The Czech Legion, the Danube Symphony, the Prelude in G minor for organ and a fragment of the Mass in E-flat major. The performers include leading interpreters from Brno and Prague, unique archival recordings and many new recordings. Conductors include Betislav Bakala, Frantiek Jlek, Jaroslav Vogel, Vclav Neumann, Karel Anerl, Bohumil Gregor, Sir Charles Mackerras and Jakub Hra, alongside distinguished Czech and Moravian choirs, soloists such as Theodor ruba, Beno Blachut, Libue Domannsk and Gabriela Beakov, and instrumentalists including Josef Suk, Ilja Hurnk, Jan Panenka, Janek Quartet and Pavel Haas Quartet. The selection reflects the extraordinary diversity of Janeks work, pays tribute to the most remarkable Czech composer of the 20th century and celebrates the unique richness of the Supraphon archive.