Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)

[lunar22]

the Turnovsky 4 was the first Martinu I ever heard and it thoroughly deserves its accolades. For a complete cycle, I'd still go for Neumann. I've never much liked Belohlavek -- he's less poor in Martinu than, for instance, Dvorak but I've always found him a somewhat wayward and superficial conductor.

[Spotted Horses]

I've stumbled on Martinu's solo piano music. Fantasia and toccata, Etudes and Polkas, 3 Dances Tcheques. Anyone have favorite pieces or performances to suggest?

[Scion7]

re: piano music suggestions

The Sonata, H.350 - c.1954

from 1988:

[Spotted Horses]

re: piano music suggestions

The Sonata, H.350 - c.1954

from 1988:

Thanks for the suggestion. I've managed to get a copy of that release. His recordings of the Martinu Piano Concerti made about the same time indicated to me that he still has the fire, despite no longer being a spring chicken. I didn't start with that release because I wanted to hear the complete Etudes and Polkas and he records a selection of them on that release. But now I'm ready for the Piano Sonata and will give it a listen.

What I've listened to so far are selections from a BIS release and a Naxos release containing the Piano Sonata, the Etudes and Polkas, and other small pieces.




(Both streaming on Apple Music)

[jidlomonster]

If you  enjoy the Etudes and Polkas, then you're quite likely to enjoy the earlier set of Six Polkas recorded by Giorgio Koukl, coupled with Martinů's earliest piano cycle, Five Waltzes. All thoroughly attractive music, as is his impressionistic cycle Butterflies and Birds of Paradise.  And the three volumes of Puppets are pretty irresistible too.

[Brian]

Like with some other composers/cycles, I've decided to listen with concentration to the Martinu quartets and take some notes. This is mostly for my own memory, but just in case anyone else finds it interesting, might as well post it here. Panocha Quartet set.

Quartet No. 1 (1918) is nicknamed the "French Quartet" and the booklet writer defends this practice because it comes from the period when Martinu was strongly influenced by Ravel and the impressionists. (But before, note, he started studying with Roussel.) However, I really only hear the "Frenchness" in the softness and sensitivity of the music, which even in scurrying quick moments (the scherzo) still has a certain light touch and grace. The musical language itself seems to me entirely Eastern European. I hear foreshadowing of the quartets of Pavel Haas, bits that echo Szymanowski, and other folk-inspired harmonies. It's rather a big piece at 36 minutes - the impassioned slow movement is the shortest, and the scherzo is symphonic in scale - but not at all "overbaked."

Quartet No. 2 (1925) catapults us forward in time to music that sounds distinctively Martinu-ish. The rollicking rhythms are here, and the easy facility with melody (I heard a bit about 90 seconds into the first movement that even, already, sounds like the Nonet). One can occasionally hear a bit of Stravinsky, maybe. As rambunctious as the first movement is, the second feels nearly like a dirge, with grim, funereal tread and dissonance.

It's remarkable to think that the miniature-sized Quartet No. 3 (1929) is just as long, in total, as the finale only of No. 1. It's the most distinctive and unusual piece yet, starting with low viola sounds, plucking twangs, wavering violins - super mysterious. That spooky alien mood will return a few times, and it's a remarkable effect, kind of like the beginning of Symphony No. 6. This quartet may be short, but it sticks in your memory, bigtime.

Quartet No. 4 (1937) was written for private, not public, performance, for the quiet enjoyment of a businessman. Note to self: my new life goal is to have music commissioned for private moments around the house. Think I could get James MacMillan to write a tune for my breakfasts? Anyway, it is relatively simple, laid-back, traditionally structured (scherzo before slow movement), and a total delight. Were I the businessman, I'd think the commission a total success. This quartet may well be overshadowed by the others in the cycle - No. 3 being so peculiarly moody, Nos. 5 and 6 being symphonic dramas - but it will be one I return to with great pleasure.

Quartet No. 5 (1938) clearly prepares for the Martinu of the symphonies, with its heightened sense of drama and expression. Here, though the movements follow the traditional/classical order, their effects are often unique, including stark endings, the haunting nocturnal atmosphere of the slow movement, and the overall ending of the piece, which pulls back and slows down. Chilling, powerful, fascinating stuff.

Quartet No. 6 (1946) comes a few years after the Symphony No. 3, but reminds me quite a lot of that symphony. Its mood is troubled and unsettled; the syncopation, complex rhythms, quivering effects, and often rather independent parts all contribute to this. So does the lack of a typical slow movement. The middle movement is marked "Andante" but the Panocha Quartet does not slow down very much at all relative to the first and last movements. Maybe they are doing for this piece what Bryden Thomson did for the Third Symphony and being a little bit controversial, but the transitions all work clearly, even to the ambivalent finale. Even here, after a celebratory beginning, you can sense a little bit of hesitation, an awareness of the past darkness, in a moment of repose shortly before the ending. I'm not sure what to make of the ending, either. Has the ghost been banished or not?

No such question lingers with Quartet No. 7 (1947), which features the same bustling activity and the same sense that the instruments are aligned this way one moment, that way the next - really rather kaleidoscopic. But this time all that energy is, maybe not more relaxed, but more assured and more joyful. I agree with several commentators (including the booklet writer) that the most notable feature is the lovely, expressive, calming slow movement. This is like a public concert successor to No. 4.

Overall, this is not a cycle to listen to all at once like I did. It's best to savor them individually so that the textures (frequently very similar) and complex rhythms (also frequently a shared trait) don't blur. The most distinctive, to me, are 3-5: 3 for its sheer atmospheric weirdness, 4 for its relaxed not-quite-Haydnesque privacy, and 5 for the sheer drama. In hindsight, it's good that Supraphon splits these over three discs rather than cramming them into two (which you could achieve this way: 2/3/4/5 and 1/6/7) so that the ears don't fatigue. I'd be interested in hearing an alternative approach to contrast to the Panocha's relative roughness and urgency. Will have to try the Naxos cycle.

[DavidW]

I'm sure this has already been discussed somewhere in the seventy pages... but what do you think of Martinu's short operas?  Though I ended up playing some solo piano, I also saw this album on Idagio:

[vers la flamme]

I'm sure this has already been discussed somewhere in the seventy pages... but what do you think of Martinu's short operas?  Though I ended up playing some solo piano, I also saw this album on Idagio:

Never heard, but I want to now. Do these both fit on a single disc?

[DavidW]

Never heard, but I want to now. Do these both fit on a single disc?

It is kind of hard to tell on streaming honestly!  It looks so?

[Karl Henning]

I'm sure this has already been discussed somewhere in the seventy pages... but what do you think of Martinu's short operas?  Though I ended up playing some solo piano, I also saw this album on Idagio:

Excellent!

[Skogwald]

I've been sampling Martinu's chamber music recently. There's a lot to like!

My favorite disc so far is this one:

Ensemble Calliopee - H. 136
I think it's absolutely first class all the way through!

[Brian]

Just received my copy of the January-June magazine of the International Martinu Circle (membership motivated by @jidlomonster) and read with very keen interest about Jakub Hrusa and Josef Spacek's encounter with the autograph score of Violin Concerto No. 1. When they turned to the last page, they discovered a completely different ending than the published version!

It sounds like there are no firm plans yet, but they'd very much like to record a performance of the concerto with the original, alternative ending.

[KevinP]

I'm sure this has already been discussed somewhere in the seventy pages... but what do you think of Martinu's short operas?  Though I ended up playing some solo piano, I also saw this album on Idagio:

The CD, but not the downloads, is currently on sale at Presto. Was tempted to get the hi-res files anyway, but then I saw that no digital booklet is included, and being opera, that's a deal-breaker. I assume the physical version has the librettos, though that's not always the safest assumption.

I've been sampling Martinu's chamber music recently. There's a lot to like!

There is indeed, and I've not even heard the disc you posted.

[Brian]

The CD, but not the downloads, is currently on sale at Presto. Was tempted to get the hi-res files anyway, but then I saw that no digital booklet is included, and being opera, that's a deal-breaker. I assume the physical version has the librettos, though that's not always the safest assumption.

Just checked for you. "Booklet contains article, complete libretto, and translations."

[brewski]

In October, looking forward to the Martinů Rhapsody-Concerto for Viola and Orchestra with violist Choong-Jin Chang, so checking it out with Antoine Tamestit, Tugan Sokhiev, and the Capitol Orchestra of Toulouse.

Quite a piece, and yet more evidence that the composer is one of the greats.

-Bruce

[jidlomonster]

Just received my copy of the January-June magazine of the International Martinu Circle (membership motivated by @jidlomonster) and read with very keen interest about Jakub Hrusa and Josef Spacek's encounter with the autograph score of Violin Concerto No.

I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the recent issue.  Thank you for sending the Dallas magazine to me and I am sorry not to have acknowledged it sooner.  I managed to lose your email address, along with many others, after a computer crash.  If you could send me a short email we can restore contact.  Thanks!

[KevinP]

The opera disc just arrived after a month of international transit. I haven't sat down with the libretto yet, but I listened to the French opera as I drove to work. Very enjoyable. It kept my interest, which, to be honest, listening to opera when I don't know what's going on, and while multitasking, doesn't always happen.