Classical Music Playlist, June 26, 2026
Before the end of World War I, the Hapsburg Empire pressured Germanization upon the Czech people who resisted in silent ways. For example, the “Sokol” gymnastics festivals that paraded Czech strength and independence in a celebration of nationalistic pride. After the War when the regions of Bohemia and Moravia were merged into the new Czechoslovakia, outward expression of nationalistic pride increased and for a 1926 “Sokol” festival, Moravian composer Leoš Janácek wrote his “Sinfonietta” and dedicated it to the Czechoslovak Armed Forces and the ideals of a “contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory.” Beginning and ending with military fanfares from a huge brass section, the Sinfonietta is also a musical travelogue of Janácek’s Moravian hometown of Brno (Špilberk Castle, the Brno Monastery, the streets of downtown Brno, and the great Brno Town Hall). Janácek’s “Sinfonietta” is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
