In the Mists

In the Mists (V mlhách) is a piano cycle by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, the last of his more substantial solo works for the instrument. It was created in 1912, in the time when Janáček suffered the death of his daughter Olga and his operas were still rejected by the Prague opera houses, thus in the difficult life situation. All the four parts of the cycle are anchored in "misty" keys with five or six flats, characteristic for the cycle are the frequent changes of meter. Atmosphere of the cycle is often called as impressionist, with the influence of Claude Debussy. The premiere took place on December 7, 1913, when Marie Dvořáková played it at a concert organized by the choral society Moravan in the Moravian town of Kroměříž.

Structure

The cycle consists of four parts:

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

Recordings

*Janáček: Complete Piano Works. (Jan Jiraský) CD ArcoDiva 2004. UP 0071-2132
*Janáček: Piano Works. (Josef Páleníček) CD Supraphon 2005. SU 3812-2

Sources

*Janáček, Leoš: V mlhách. Urtext. Praha: Editio Bärenreiter Praha,2005. BA 9500