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About this Piece

The mists or fog of Leoš Janáček’s final work for piano, a cycle of four short pieces entitled In the Mists, of which we hear the first, are not literal but psychological. Janáček (1854-1928) was 62 before he achieved any recognition for his music when his opera Jenůfa was premiered to great acclaim in 1916. In the Mists was composed in 1912, in the midst of personal crises and doubts. We have nothing from the composer to guide us through these little enigmas, but there is in the music an undeniable ray of optimism that penetrates the haze.