John Deacon wrote:

>May I suggest that the opening of Janacek's Sinfonietta is one of the most
>irritating of introductions to a major piece of music.  It's not that I
>dislike the whole work, just the opening.

Dear John, you may suggest anything you see fit, but I really cannot follow
this.  Please explain to me simple Janacek lover what irritates you so much
in the sinfonietta's opening.  Has it to do something with an intrinsic
annoyance factor devilishly hidden by Janacek to perturbate the celestial
piece of our minds, or is it a deja-vu between an experience of irritating
aspects of life I have not yet been so fortunate to have and their musical
translation/equivalent.

Provoking, estranging, pompous, overwhelming, coulourfull, martial,
causing physical or emotianal strain, and so on and so on may spring to
mind when thinking about this piece....  A lot of adjectives, both negative
and positive may be useful in a discussion on the opening of a piece, you
choice depending obviously on whether you like it or not.  "Irritating"
in my book is an adjective that may come to mind to me to describe the
attitude and doings of, say, musicians and critics, but I've never seen
it succesfully applied to music itself...  Moreover, you seem to say that
later on in the sinfonietta, things take a turn for the better, which is
strange too.  Ever heard the last movement? For people perhaps not familiar
with the piece: in the last movement things end with a recapitulation
of the opening.  So what's the final irritation level? And even more
interestingly: what is it in the rest of the piece that succeeds in
lowering your irritation level?

greetings,
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