Brno.
Beside the operas, the Sinfonietta is, I suppose, the Janáček’s most famous piece.
The opening had its source in a brass band fanfare commissioned from the composer for a gymnastics festival. After this initial flourish (scored for twenty-five brass players!), each of the subsequent four movements is given a descriptive title based on places in Janáček’s home town, Brno, the Czech Republic’s second city. The Andante is entitled The Castle; the Moderato, The Queen’s Monastery; the Allegretto, A Street; and the final Andante con moto, The Town Hall.
Since it’s dedicated ‘to the Czechoslovak Army’, the work was at first called Military Sinfonietta; the composer eventually decided to drop the word ‘military’.
00:00:50 Allegro
00:02:16 Andante
00:08:26 Moderato
00:13:57 Allegretto
00:16:44 Andante con moto
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