Composer, conductor, and arranger Peter Breiner has done an able job of adapting sections of Janácek's operas Jenufa and The Excursions of Mr. Broucek into multimovement suites for orchestra by leaving the orchestral parts intact, subsuming the vocal lines into the orchestra, and appending concert endings. Even if Breiner adds nothing to Janácek's glorious music, he does make it possible for the music to be played out of context of the operas. As a conductor, Breiner does an enthusiastic job of bringing his arrangements to life and one can catch the sense of excitement and pathos that informs Janácek's scores. But his orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony, cannot match his enthusiasm. Though it certainly gives its best effort, the orchestra lacks the strength to bring out the big melodies, the energy to bring out the powerful rhythms, and the finesse to balance the strength and energy it does have, and the result is a pair of performances that sound less specifically Moravian and more generically nationalist and more clinical than inspired. For listeners who deeply love Janácek's operas, these suites will likely fail to satisfy. And for listeners who don't already know Janácek's operas, this disc is likely to fail to lead them to the operas themselves. Naxos' digital sound is colorful and clear, but curiously two-dimensional; that is, it has height and width, but no depth. --allmusic.com, James Leonard, March 2009Janácek fans will be salivating at the prospect of a new series of suites from his operas, of which this release is billed as Volume 1. Of course, some very good ones already exist, whether José Serebrier's arrangement of music from The Makropulos Case, or Frantisek Jílek's excellent suites from Fate, The Cunning LIttle Vixen, and From the House of the Dead. Janácek's operatic music is so fascinatingly mobile, visceral in its emotional impact, and direct in expression that even when it consists of little more than ostinatos and tune-fragments it's interesting to listen to on its own, and thus far we have had no suite from his first great opera, Jenufa.In the event, Peter Breiner's arrangement is only partially successful. Some of his choices are puzzling. For example, he avoids using the endings of the first two acts, which could have helped in concluding a couple of the suite's six movements. Despite freely mixing episodes from different parts of the opera (combining the preludes to the second and third acts works particularly well), he hasn't avoided that "stop and start" quality produced by building to a climax and then cutting off abruptly. He doesn't touch Kostelnicka's "murder" monologue, a wonderful chunk of intense music with its own natural form. And his orchestral retouching sometimes fails to convince. Doubling the melody of Steva's recruiting song with a glockenspiel is tacky--more like one of John Lanchbery's Minkus ballet adaptations.This is less of a problem in the Broucek suite. This opera, as we already know from the existing arrangement, contains tons of tuneful, gorgeous, continuous music, and Breiner's 40 minutes quite successfully captures most of the highlights. More problematic, however, is his conducting. In the Jenufa suite his tempos tend to be stiff and stodgy, the response of the orchestra lacking in both dynamic range and sheer intensity. Again, the music from Broucek comes off better, perhaps because it's at once more colorful and less emotionally heated, as befits a comic opera. So this disc is only a partial success; I hope the series continues under a more exciting conductor, and that Breiner sticks to Janácek's original intentions (texturally) to the extent possible. --ClassicsToday.com, David Hurwitz, February 2009These three budget-priced albums aren't only an easy introduction to the radiant sounds made by one of the 20th century's most unique opera composers; they make for an addictive collection of orchestral songs without words. --The Star Ledger, Bradley Bambarger, December 2009It's difficult to know quite who this disc is aimed at.  Peter Breiner has taken some highlights from these operas and arranged them to work as orchestral concert suites, somewhat like Stokowski's treatment of Wagner.  It's a laudable endeavour and the result is pleasing and never less than interesting.  Who's it meant to appeal to, however?  Surely anyone interested in this music will already know the operas in their original form where there are no cuts to intervene and frustrate the progress.  I very much doubt that anyone would come to this disc as a way into Janáèek's work: better, surely, to take the plunge and go for the real McCoy.Anyway, the results are pleasing and very well played.  In Jenùfa Breiner sticks broadly to Janáèek's orchestral textures with the occasional embellishment, such as a solo trumpet to sing Jenùfa's lines or a cor anglais for the Kostelnièka's.  The opening movement goes from the beginning of the opera with its ostinato xylophone for the mill wheel.  Oddly, though, we get the opening of Act 3 in the third movement before it suddenly reverts back to the opening of Act 2.  The booklet notes argue for this "cinematic" treatment of the score, but if you know the opera then it just sounds a bit odd.  Moving from this tension into the wedding celebrations then feels a bit jarring.  The playing itself is very good, but the orchestra isn't helped by somewhat recessed recorded sound; this in turn detracts from the immediacy of the dance movements, and the swell of the ending lacks the final dramatic edge.I enjoyed Brouèek more as a distinct work, perhaps because I don't know the opera.  It opens with a jovial depiction of Prague and of Brouèek himself, before much more delicate orchestration underlines the change of location to the Moon in the second movement.  The atmosphere of the spectral strings and glockenspiel (or is it a celesta?) contrasts with the lovely romantic swell which occurs at 5:45, and I was reminded a little of middle-period Mahler.  The third movement dances are all good fun, by turns lithe and swaggering, though the patriotic celebrations of the finale feel pedestrian rather than triumphal.So if you already like Janáèek's operas then this would be a fitting enough supplement to recordings you may already have.  But would I recommend that you invest in this disc before a full set of the operas themselves?  No: roll up your sleeves and get stuck into the real thing instead. --MusicWeb International, Simon Thompson, May 2009Janáèek's operas have become recognised as some of the finest of the 20th century, and his reputation is more often than not enhanced by each new production that hits the boards or the recorded catalogue. We've recently been treated to a fine recording of The Excursions of Mr Brouèek, and my reference for Jenùfa is the venerable 1977-78 Supraphon recording with the Brno Janáèek Opera forces under Frantisek Jílek.The best known of Janáèek's `suites from the opera' would have to be that of the Cunning Little Vixen, which, as well as From the House of the Dead was also arranged into a suite by Frantisek Jílek, but has appeared most frequently in a re-orchestration by Vacláv Talich. Significantly in this context, Sir Charles Mackerras returned to the original for his own recording, and in the same way Peter Breiner's impressive arrangements also have to stand up against Janáèek's own orchestral sound.Without a comparison of the scores it's not a straightforward business, untangling differences between originals and arrangements in detail, and I don't propose to make the attempt here. It may partially be due to differences in modern recording, ideal concert hall conditions rather than the `Opera house' situation, or at the very least a recording set up which no longer has to take a variety of singers into consideration, but these suites sound more sumptuous and grand than anything I've heard from these pieces in the past. Janáèek's own orchestral palette in both of these operas is rich and full of fascinating colour and variety, and Breiner takes all of this on board. Take something like Are you feeling sad, Jenùfa however, and there is none of the restless urgency of that opening as you hear it from Jílek. Much as I admire the playing and sound, this is a rather well-fed Jenùfa, and there are few places here where the tragic drama of the opera isn't covered with some kind of glitzy, sometimes almost Hollywood gloss.The same comments apply to Brouèek. You only have to compare the magical twists, turns and quicksilver contrasts of the opening under the baton of Jiøí Bìlohlávek with the rather more thick and ponderous tread of the same passages with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Agreed, we're not entirely comparing like with like, and as concert suites rather than accompaniments to stage drama these arrangements work very well indeed. I like the creative and convincing way Breiner has brought sometimes disparate material together to create new movements. These arrangements and performances do however paint a rather different picture of Janáèek's operas than the one you might hope to hear in an opera production.Some collectors of recorded music may not have much time for warbling opera singers on CD, and will be missing some wonderful music as a result. Suites like these can release fine compositional work from their dramatic context and win new audiences as a result. For this I applaud Peter Breiner for his work on these two operas, and will certainly be on the lookout for subsequent volumes. For me, the big-boned symphonic approach does remove some of the intimacy and excitement of Janáèek's works as original operas, and I think I would have preferred a little more lightness of touch and swiftness of pacing to help bring this feeling back. This said, these are fine performances and stunningly dynamic recordings, with some fine low drum rumbles and plenty of sparkle and colour in the spectrum. If you know and love the operas already this disc probably won't further enhance your appreciation, but if you want some refreshingly new orchestral music and an alternative view on Janáèek then this is a very strong contender indeed. --MusicWeb International, Dominy Clements, April 2009Rating: 4/5What is perhaps most remarkable about this set is that it has taken until now to materialize, the Lincoln bicentennial year having provided the timely impetus. The tragic, beloved figure of Abraham Lincoln has inspired a great deal of music, from his time to our own; the one well-known piece is Copland's Lincoln Portrait, which concludes this program, following seven other 20th-century American works that will be "discoveries" to most listeners, and in the event pretty happy ones.The Lincoln Legend composed by Morton Gould in 1941 (and introduced by Toscanini the following year) is built on songs known to Lincoln and associated with him, treated in the colorful and inventive style Gould had already perfected by age 27. Variations on an American Song: Aspects of Lincoln and Liberty, by Paul Turok (the only living composer represented here), focuses on a single tune (not among those used by Gould), with similar resourcefulness and appeal.Naxos has effectively revived the music of George Frederick McKay on several earlier CDs; his five-part "Lincoln Tribute" called To a Liberator (with chorus) definitely holds its own here, powered by a confidence and directness well suited to its subject. There are twelve brief sections to Ernst Bacon's evocative Ford's Theatre: A Few Glimpses of Easter Week 1865. Roy Harris's solo cantata of Vachel Lindsay's "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight," the most poignant of Harris's several Lincoln works, is chamber music (sung by Sharon Mabry with a piano trio from the orchestra), aptly positioned as an intimate prelude to the Bacon work. Ives's Lincoln, the Great Commoner, another choral piece (part of Edwin Markham's poem), is an effective prelude to the entire program.A Lincoln Address, commissioned from Vincent Persichetti for the concert on the eve of President Nixon's second inauguration, was scrapped because of its possibly "inflammatory" text, but was taken up in other venues within a week of that event. That work and the familiar Copland are the weak links in this program, not for any musical failure but because the chosen narrator's oratorical style simply seems out of character for Lincoln's sober directness in addressing the sorrows and hopes of a self-questioning nation.But the Lincoln Portrait is by now one of those things we can hardly avoid duplicating, and if that track is passed over this is still a valuable collection. Leonard Slatkin obviously believes in all this music and once again has the Nashville SO playing its collective heart out to acquaint us on the most persuasive level with music we might otherwise have missed, while the robust, well-balanced sound puts everything in the most flattering light. I might only question why there are no texts for the two choral pieces (Ives and McKay), though texts are included for the Harris piece and the two works with narration (Persichetti and Copland). --Soundstage.com, Richard Freed, April 2009The operas of Leos Janacek (1854-1928) are heard more frequently in the theater than ever, but he didn't write many standalone orchestral pieces. This invaluable disc -- the first in a series devoted to orchestral suites from the Czech's stage works -- gives even opera-resistant listeners the chance to experience the piquant melody and shimmering texture that make Janacek a one-of-a-kind composer. Although an unsettling drama on stage, "Jenufa" feels more like a bittersweet fairy tale in conductor Peter Breiner's orchestral suite -- the music having that swirling, "magical" Janacek sound. "The Excursions of Mr. Broucek" is a fantastical satire, and its music evokes a surprising, luminous and, again, bittersweet world. With the New Zealand orchestra punching way above its weight, this is a disc to set on repeat. --Nj.com, March 20, 2009With the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth upon us, such a release seems so very logical. According to the liner notes, the conductor reviewed some ninety pieces before settling on the eight works selected for this release. Sadly, many deserving works would seem to have been excluded. Perhaps the most significant, the Roy Harris Sixth Symphony, "Gettysburg," was not included. This piece needs a new recording and is, perhaps, one of that composer's finest works. Hopefully, it will be included in a future survey of Harris' Symphonies. Other lacunae include Weinberger's and Mason's Lincoln Symphonies.Ives' essay provides a fitting introduction to this two-disc set. Amid the deluge of dissonance there is great dignity in the music. Persichetti's setting of words of Lincoln is perhaps best known for extra-musical reasons. His setting of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address was written for, but not performed for, Nixon's 1973 inauguration. Some thought that Lincoln's words were problematic when considered within the context of the then all too present Vietnam War. The music is primarily a reworking of materials from the composer's Seventh Symphony. The piece has none of the dramatic sweep of the Copland. The text provides the form, more so than any creative impetus of the music. The music merely seems to comment on the text as opposed to there being a true merging of text and music.Of all of the works on this disc, Harris' "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight" seems to capture the tragic spirit of Lincoln best. It is a setting for soprano, piano and strings of the words of Vachel Lindsay. There is a loneliness and sadness about the music which, to the ears of this listener, reflects the melancholy of this great, but tragic figure in our history. There is no flag waving, just heartfelt expression. This is its second recording, with an earlier release on the long gone MGM classical label.While I often find moments of great interest in the work of Bacon, to my ears the music often fails to convey a cogent, musical rhetoric. It seems to be a collection of miniatures which do not contribute to an organic whole. This is not to say there is not much to admire in the music, for indeed there is a great deal of fine expression.The music of Morton Gould and George Frederick McKay are two very good reasons to purchase this set. If Roy Harris captured the ruggedness of the American spirit, it was Morton Gould who captured the simple beauty and optimism of this country and branded it with a level of musical sophistication worthy of presentation in any concert hall. While his "Lincoln Legend" might not be his most brilliant essay, it is wonderful music, skillfully written and magnificently orchestrated. For those of you who had only the poor sounding Toscanini performance, this will be a most welcome addition to your collection.Slatkin does us another great service by presenting us with the all too brief "To a Liberator." The music of McKay never fails to impress. It is marked by inspired melodic invention and solid craftsmanship.  The campaign song "Lincoln and Liberty," fashioned from the tune "Rosin the Bow," serves as the basis for Paul Turok's Coplandesque set of variations. It is a charming, beautiful work.It was probably thought that no program of music about Lincoln could be complete without Copland's essay on the words of Lincoln. With so many fine recordings of this work it seems like a bit of overkill to have yet another recording, even if it does feature the fine reading of narrator Barry Scott.Sharon Mabry, Mary Kathryn Van Osdale, Anthony LaMarchina and Roger Wiesmeyer do a fine job with the Harris. Slatkin's readings are respectful and perhaps a bit subdued. The playing of the Nashville Symphony sounds a bit tentative at times. Barry Scott's narration of both the Persichetti and Copland is respectful and well-considered. He conveys the words of Lincoln with great nobility. The recorded sound is excellent.Each of the composers attempted an impossible task: capturing the essence of a great man in music. While Lincoln achieved greatness by rising to meet a crisis, with few exceptions, none of the composers rose to the challenge of capturing Lincoln in music. But perhaps that is not the goal of music. Yet of all of works inspired by Lincoln and his time it is the Harris Sixth Symphony, "Gettysburg," unfortunately, not included in this set, and Copland's essay, that seem to me to speak to the individuality, pragmatism, nobility, vulnerability, complexity and tragedy to be found in this remarkable man, and to his era. --Classical Net, Karl Miller, April 2009