Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta [download]

Melodious and charming, The Cunning Little Vixen is a work rooted in Czech history and folk music; a sentimental journey through the cycles of life. For Sir Simon Rattle, it’s a deeply personal and emotional work – ‘it’s the piece that made me want to become an opera conductor … and still one of the pieces that reduces me to tears more easily than any other’, says the LSO's Music Director. Recorded with an outstanding cast during semi-staged performances, this recording is the second in an LSO Live series showcasing acclaimed collaborations between Rattle and the celebrated stage director Peter Sellars.

Towering fanfares open Janáček’s Sinfonietta, an ode to the composer’s hometown of Brno in the now Czech Republic. It’s a portrait composed for a national celebration of Slavic culture, with Janáček’s love of musical tradition evident in dancing strings and celebratory brass.