Janáček: In the Mists

Introduction

In the Mists (Czech: V mlhách) is a piano cycle by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, the last of his more substantial solo works for the instrument. It was composed in 1912, some years after Janáček had suffered the death of his daughter Olga and while his operas were still being rejected by the Prague opera houses. All four parts of the cycle are anchored in "misty" keys with five or six flats; characteristic of the cycle are the frequent changes of meter. Czech musicologist Jiří Zahrádka compared the atmosphere of the cycle to impressionist works, in particular those of Claude Debussy. The première took place on December 7, 1913, when Marie Dvořáková played it at a concert organized by the choral society Moravan in Kroměříž.

On January 24, 1914, the cycle had its first public performance at the third concert of the Organ School in Brno by pianist Marie Dvořáková, teacher of the school.

Structure

The cycle consists of four parts:

• I. Andante
• II. Molto adagio
• III. Andantino
• IV. Presto

A complete performance of the work runs 14 to 15 minutes in length.