| Janáček, Leoš (1854-1928) | The Ballad of Blaník | |
| Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904) | The Golden Spinning Wheel, poème symphonique, Op.109 | |
| Janáček, Leoš (1854-1928) | Messe glagolitique (1927 version, ed Wingfield) |
| Lucie Vagenknechtová | Soprano |
| Lucie Hilscherová | Mezzo-soprano |
| Aleš Briscein | Ténor |
| Jan Martiník | Basse |
| London Symphony Chorus | |
| Simon Halsey | Chef de chœur |
| London Symphony Orchestra | |
| Kazushi Ono | Direction |
Kazushi Ono brings together three works that define the ‘Czech sound’, by composers who drew their material from Czech history, legends and landscapes – Dvořák and Janáček.
Janáček’s Ballad of Blaník and Dvořák’s Golden Spinning Wheel are both symphonic poems that take Czech legends as their inspiration – the first using the tale of Wenceslas as a vehicle to celebrate the peaceful regeneration of Czechoslovakia as an independent nation after World War I; the second a rather gruesome tale of greed, murder and magic.
In the words of the writer Milan Kundera, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass is ‘more an orgy than a mass’ – perhaps appropriately for its composer, who despite being a well-known atheist, wrote a work that largely followed the traditional Catholic Mass structure. Including a wildly energetic section for solo organ, it takes the listener on an exhilarating journey.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner is obliged to reduce his forthcoming concert schedule for personal reasons and is unfortunately now unable to conduct the LSO at the Barbican on 20 October. However he will still conduct the Orchestra’s concert on 24 October. The LSO is very grateful to Kazushi Ono for agreeing to step in at short notice to conduct on 20 October. Both programmes remain unchanged.
