Janácek: Dumka for violin and piano
This Dumka dates from around 1880 in close temporal
proximity to the fourth Romance, though Leoš Janácek made no reference
to it in his letters to Zdenka Schulzová from Leipzig and Vienna. Its source is a
Ukrainian dumka, a dance which became a firm favourite with Dvorák, whose
influence is clearly apparent in this piece. In contrast to the earlier simpler Romance
with its frequent doubling of the violin and piano parts, this Dumka is more
elaborate in its formal construction and more ardent in its expressive content.
It was first performed in a benefit concert for the Brno
Organ school on 8 March 1885 by the violinist A Sobotka, with the composer at the piano,
and was published in 1929. Janácek's autograph violin part turned up amongst the papers
of Bretislav Bakala in 1995.
Alena Nemcová
