by Ben Hogwood. Picture of Janáček used courtesy of Wikipedia, unknown author

On this day, 100 years ago, the first performance of Janáček’s Sinfonietta took place in Prague, under the direction of Václav Talich.

Arcana has examined this piece before, but in a very different context – as approached by Emerson, Lake & Palmer! Here are the details of Knife-Edge:

What tune does it use?

The first movement of the Sinfonietta, by Leoš Janáček (born on this day in 1854):

The Sinfonietta is a thrilling orchestral work, begun with a powerful brass fanfare but containing five incident-packed movements.

How does it work?

The main melody of the first movement Fanfare is the basis for Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s song, but in his keyboard part Keith Emerson refers to other parts of the work.

Then, on his solo from 2’40”, Emerson departs from Janáček’s blueprint with a characteristically incisive solo, backed by a virtuosic drum track. From 3’25” the style broadens to include explicit references to J.S. Bach, the Allemande of his French Suite no.1 in D minor:

What else is new?

You can hear the whole of the Sinfonietta below, in a thrilling performance from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, in a recording made in 1980:

Published post no.2,929 – Friday 26 June 2026