Kabeláč • Smetana Kabeláč: Eight Preludes; Motifs from Exotic Lands; Smetana: Dreams Jan Bartoš (piano) Supraphon SU43242 70:25 mins
The piano miniature is an enduring presence in Czech music from early pioneers like Tomášek and Voříšek, through Smetana and Dvořák to the mid-20th century with Miloslav Kabeláč. Persecuted by the Nazis and sidelined by the Communists, Kabeláč’s great qualities as a composer, over 40 years after his death, are at last being recognised. His refreshing approach to tonality, unashamed lyricism and formal clarity are evident throughout his superb Eight Preludes from the mid-1950s and the captivating Motifs from Exotic Lands of 1961 celebrating his fascination with non-European music. Jan Bartoš’s playing of the Preludes is magnificent, both in projecting the mesmerising impetus of the opening and closing numbers and in realising the delicately reimagined Impressionism of the third and fifth.
For all his renown as the father of Czech opera, Smetana’s first love was the piano and he had a formidable reputation as performer and teacher. The cycle, Dreams, is from the latter part of his career when deafness had reduced him to a shadow of his former combative self. While these pieces offer plenty of the bracing, nationalist Smetana, nearly all tend toward wistful reflection. Bartoš is an ideal interpreter here, providing abundant brilliance without sacrificing poetry, notably in the two examples of rural merrymaking where plentiful Lisztian exuberance is balanced by skilful rhythmic pointing and a subtle rubato revealing the heart of these deeply-felt works. Beautifully recorded, this is one of the best and certainly most stimulating recordings of Czech piano music of recent years.
Jan Smaczny
