Janácek: Orchestral Suites from the Operas Volume 2

…the Naxos sound…is satisfyingly deep and wide…Breiner…does capture some of the opera’s distinctive rhythms and colours—just listen to those dashes of Taras Bulba starting at 1:52. Also, there is some lovely, tender playing at the start of the second movement, while in the third—where Kát’a looks forward to her clandestine meeting with Boris—Breiner conjures up vivid, authentic-sounding harmonies; there is more dramatic thrust here as well, although perhaps the sharper edges of Janáček’s score are somewhat blunted.

 

I particularly liked the free-flowing music of Intermezzos and Songs (tr. 4), where Breiner teases delectable sounds from his orchestra…the New Zealand Symphony…with flair and character throughout. The lovers’ brief moments of happiness are glowingly done, but before long we are plunged into the final movement and the approaching storm. This pivotal event is a lightning rod for all the opera’s pent-up emotions, rendered by Janáček in music of extraordinary tension and power. Yes, Breiner is exciting here and he does capture the pain of Kát’a’s dilemma, but in this arrangement we lose sight of the opera’s broader span, its cumulative tension.

…The New Zealand Symphony sound thrilling here [The Makropulos Affair], Wellington Town Hall a good match for Breiner’s more expansive view of the score…Breiner finds a good balance between lyricism and drama, seriousness and absurdity, in tracks 8 and 9. In the end Emilia is within reach of that elusive potion but decides to embrace death instead. Despite the absurdities of the plot Janáček’s potent score makes it remarkably easy to suspend disbelief, nowhere more so than here.

…Some listeners will enjoy this selection of tunes; others will surely prefer the emotional and musical maelstrom of the operas themselves. --MusicWeb International, July 2009