One of Leos Janácek’s last chamber music works was written in the autumn of 1926 at the suggestion of the pianist Otakar Hollmann (1894–1967), an invalid from the First World War.<br>
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Like his contemporary Paul Wittgenstein, Hollmann urged composers to write something for piano left hand; he succeeded in winning over Bohuslav Martinu, Erwin Schulhoff and Janácek to do this. Janácek did not want, as he put it, to compose a “dance for one leg”, but finally wrote a four-movement work with associations to military music, scored for piano, flute (piccolo), two trumpets, three trombones (preferably valve trombones because of the fast passages) and a tenor tuba. The French horn was allowed by the composer to substitute the tuba.<br>
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The Capriccio was premiered by Otakar Hollmann and members of the Czech Philharmonic in Prague on 2 March 1928 in the presence of the enthusiastic composer.<br>
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The new edition is based on volume E/5 of the “Critical Complete Edition of the Works of Leos Janácek”.<br>