Belle Époque Reflections
Ballade in D minor was one of the compositions with which the young Josef Suk introduced himself to Dvořák, his future teacher. He later composed a Serenade to it, and together the two charming pieces were published by Simrock as Op. 3. Leoš Janáček's Tale for cello and piano was inspired by a Russian epic poem, The Tale of Tsar Berendej. Before leaving for the USA, Antonín Dvořák arranged the fifth movement of his four-hand piano cycle From Šumava, for cello and piano. The moodily rather serious Climate of the Forest will be complemented by the virtuosic Rondo in G minor, which works with three expressive themes in an exemplary rondo form. Janáček and Dvořák are close in years of birth, but their music belongs to different centuries. The concert programme will be completed by Schumann's only opus composed for this instrumentation and Stravinsky's arrangement of his own ballet Pulcinella.
