The repertoire of the concert featuring the Belfiato Quintet founded in Prague and the NFM resident ensemble LutosAir Quintet includes works for wind instruments a .o. by Leoš Janáček, professor of another featured composer Pavel Haas. The programme will be complemented by works by the Romanian composers who played significant roles in the music of the first half of the 20th century: Dinu Lipatti and George Enescu.
In the work of Domenico Scarlatti – the legendary Italian Baroque composer – numerous keyboard sonatas feature prominently. Perfectly thought out in terms of form and melodic invention, the works have over time become a staple repertoire of piano students. It is no wonder then that the Italian’s legacy clearly inspired the legendary pianist and composer Dinu Lipatti, who at the turn of 1938 and 1939 created Six Sonatas after Domenico Scarlatti arranged for wind quintet, thus paying homage to the artist considered the first virtuoso of the piano. Less than a decade earlier, the last notes in the score of the Wind Quintet op. 10 were noted by Pavel Haas. Consisting of four movements: Preludio, Preghiera, Ballo eccentrico and Epilogo – the piece is one of the few published during the composer’s lifetime. This quintet concentrates in itself a multitude of perfectly musically illustrated moods – from light, sometimes jazzy sequences to fragments with a melancholic tinge.
The Cunning Little Vixen is one of the most important titles in Leoš Janáček’s body of work. This opera was created in the 1920s based on the texts of fairy tales written by Rudolf Těsnohlídek to the drawings of Stanislav Lolek and is an expression of a peculiar adoration for nature. During the concert, the musicians of the Belfiato Quintet will perform an atmospheric suite from Janáček’s opera, arranged by Jaroslav Pelikán for wind quintet. The musicians will join forces in the impressive Decetto in D major for wind instruments op. 14, composed by George Enescu in 1906. The line-up of the piece consists of two flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons, as well as two horns, an oboe and cor anglais. The line-up enhances the depth of the piece’s sound – although it was intended for a chamber ensemble, it bedazzles with an almost symphonic volume thanks to the masterfully selected instruments. Nowadays, this work is undoubtedly one of the most eagerly performed in the composer’s rich legacy.