10/10
Ivana Švestková, harp.
Self-released, 2024.
Bedřich Smetana once said, “In music is the life of the Czechs.” But what does Czech music sound like, and does it have its own language? At the risk of over-generalizing, I would say yes. The language puts the stress on the first syllable of words which can shift the rhythm of a sentence depending on the number of syllables. Like this practice, music also invites a shift that gives it a specific rhythmic quality.
In my book, rhythm leads to dance and dance to joy. Let me tell you, if I only had one word to describe the terrific new album by Ivana Švestková, principal harp of the Brno Philharmonic, it would be “joy.” In the Strings is a ravishing recital of music by Czech composers including a new original arrangement of Leoš Janáček’s On an Overgrown Path.
Influenced by the fervent nationalism of the late 19th century, Janáček stepped away from Germanic-influenced classical themes and searched out the folk music of his own country. Music that had been ignored became the basis for new works that not only celebrated the folk sources but also the country itself. Švestková explores five from the first series, A blown-away leaf, Come with us!, The Frýdek Madonna, Good night!, and my personal favorite, The barn owl has not flown away!, a piece that is at once spooky and soothing like a good bedtime story.
Janáček explained that his collection “contains distant reminiscences… so dear to me that I do not think they will ever vanish.” Švestková plays with a gentle, singing line that emphasizes the wistfulness of the pieces and yet an odd delight in simply possessing such memories. Back to what characterizes Czech music, there seems to be less pessimistic, world weariness and more, well, joy. I remember experiencing this myself years ago when I recorded a concert album in Zlin and the principal harpist told me that as a Czech she felt closer to an Italian nature than Russian.
Several works on the album are new to me including the deliciously romantic Nearby Landscape by Pavel Trojan, a millennial Czech conductor and composer. Contrast that with the stunning Suite by Jiří Pauer. Pauer was an artist who might have been on the wrong side of history, when, in 1989, he sided with the communists and locked staff out of the theaters to prevent any protest productions. Švestková plays his five-movement suite with command and style. Her legato is smooth and achingly beautiful. I am especially drawn to the ecstatic Toccatina, reminiscent of a hammered cimbalom and the Intermezzo of floating bell-like chords. Švestková gives it a floaty quality like puffed pastry.
But don’t for a minute think Švestková’s preference is for the angelic and light. Her performance of two studies by Jan Frank Fischer are diabolically athletic and in your face. It brings us back to the beginning of the rhythmic quality in the Czech language leading to dance which inevitably leads to joy. What a fabulous way to end this amazing recording!
