8/24–Leos Janacek: Mladi

An often-quoted description of Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) calls him “the eternally young old man from Brno.” He was indeed getting old by the time his music became well known beyond the confines of his native Moravia, a Central European region that’s now part of the Czech Republic, but in his lifetime was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then–after World War One–part of the state of Czechoslovakia. Brno is the Moravian capital and was the composer’s home for many years, during which he worked as a choir director and teacher and tried, with little success, to get his operas performed. In the early years of the 20th century his operas finally began to make their mark with critics and audiences in Prague and beyond. Nowadays he’s regarded as a leading modern composer, especially but not entirely in the world of opera: his “Katya Kabanova” was a highlight of the 2009-10 season at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Both public successes and private emotions played their part in the extraordinary youthfulness this septuagenarian exhibited during the 1920s. Though long married, he became associated with a younger woman during these years, and while it was probably not an actual love affair, the association renewed his spirit. (His second string quartet, subtitled “Intimate Letters,” reflects the intensity of his feelings.) A major project of the 1920s was his opera “The Makropoulos Affair,” whose plot has a lot to do with youth and age and the perceptions of each: the heroine is a young and beautiful woman who’s actually 300 years old. It was while he was working on this tale, and celebrating his 70th birthday, that he produced his wind sextet called “Mladi,” Youth, score for flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, horn, and bassoon. His interest in wind instruments may have been stimulated by a Parisian wind ensemble he heard perform at the convention of the International Society for Contemporary Music in 1923.

The first movement’s tempo contains elements of both andante (moderate) and allegro (lively). It’s a cheerful movement structured as a rondo: a main theme recurs several times, contrasted with shorter motives. The second movement, andante sostenuto (sustained), places emphasis on a moderate tempo; a set of variations, it begins in a minor key (D-Flat Minor) but ends in the more upbeat key of D-Flat Major. The third movement is a scherzo, (quite fast) where the flute player picks up a piccolo and performs a theme called “March of the Blue Boys.” This is probably a reference to a boys’ choir in Brno, the organization that gave Janacek his first musical training. The finale is reminiscent in mood of the first movement; it’s to be played allegro animato (animated) and is characterized by the opening theme for the flute. The conclusion of the movement is marked Presto — very fast, very happy. A youthful work indeed.