Each of the three recent versions of Janacek's recently reconstructed Violin Concerto is useful in that it presents the work in an individually revealing context. Christian Tetzlaff s on Virgin Classics is programmed together with the Sinfonietta and the Overture From the house of the dead (which is largely based on the Concerto); Thomas Zehetmair's (Teldec) places it alongside other twentieth-century violin concertos (by Berg and Hartmann), and on this new Supraphon CD Ivan Zenaty's performance shares space with other fascinating Janacek dating from the same period. The work itself is a very much 'of a piece' with the Capriccio (the brass loiter with similar intent) and the Second String Quartet, while obvious thematic links with From the house of the dead and the Sinfonietta betray its vintage. It is an engaging composition, only 12 minutes long, yet fully characteristic of Janacek's passionate, quixotic 'late' style. Zenaty's is the coolest of the three performances, whereas Zehetmair spins a solo line that is expressive, excitable and delicate, and Tetzlaff plays with greater warmth than either. Taken overall, Zehetmair's account gets my vote, not only because of his more demonstrative interpretation but because his conductor, Heinz Holliger, brings the greater sense of cogency to a somewhat fidgety orchestral score.
Frantisek Jilek's sane, even-tempered way with Janacek is most pronounced in the more familiar Sinfonietta, where clean articulation and smooth transitions take precedence over spontaneity. Pesek's performance on Virgin has greater presence, yet its relative excellence is a less crucial consideration than the musicological value of Jilek's couplings. Like the Concerto, The Danube (with its 'vocalise' for coloratura, nicely sung here by Karolina Dvorakova) is a reconstruction by Leos Faltus and Milos Stedron; but whereas much of the Concerto's substance was available in autograph score, the symphony—the only such work that Janacek (nearly) composed—survives only via a score transcribed by the composer's pupil Osvald Chlubna. However, one can't help feeling that its substance and textures, although tantalizingly suggestive of a masterpiece that might have been, would have blossomed into something far better had Janacek had the last word.
On the other hand, Jarmil Burghauser's reconstruction of Janacek's colourful music for Hauptmann's Schluk und Jau is pleasingly opulent and could easily stand on its own two movements so to speak. As with everything else in this valuabie compilation, the playing is decent the conducting clear-headed and the recording well balanced.'