Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)

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Here's a great Martinu recording that I've been revisiting:



Edit: Belohlavek has better recorded performances of the 4th on the Supraphon and Onyx labels.

[snyprrr]

You haven't heard the piano or violin concerti yet?

I remember everyone on this Thread drooling over it previously. Is it only on the Hyperion?


I saw you got the 'Serenades' (my favorite 40 minute disc , haha!!), but not with the wonderful original cover. I used to have it, got rid of it, and had to have it again simply for that wonderful early Supraphon cover:

http://www.amazon.com/5-Serenades-Martinu/dp/B0009JOMVK/ref=sr_1_20?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1357704378&sr=1-20&keywords=martinu+serenades

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Check these out, snyprrr, when you have time:



Both are essential acquisitions for Martinu fans.

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Has anyone heard this recording:

[asin]B000069JNF[/asin]

I've read good things about it. Hurwitz gave it a 10/10 and said it's one of the finest recordings Supraphon has ever released. That seems a bit over-the-top.

[Brian]

I've read good things about it. Hurwitz gave it a 10/10 and said it's one of the finest recordings Supraphon has ever released. That seems a bit over-the-top.

"Among this new release's many virtues, it's one of the finest recordings ever to come from Supraphon, balancing the soloist perfectly and rendering the characteristically plangent timbres of the Czech Philharmonic with exceptional vividness."

I interpret that as, it's some of the best recorded sound that Supraphon's engineers have ever achieved.

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"Among this new release's many virtues, it's one of the finest recordings ever to come from Supraphon, balancing the soloist perfectly and rendering the characteristically plangent timbres of the Czech Philharmonic with exceptional vividness."

I interpret that as, it's some of the best recorded sound that Supraphon's engineers have ever achieved.

I guess it pays to actually read the full review. Have you heard it, Brian?

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This recording in question is OOP and quite expensive. Also, the duration of the recording is a stingy 47 minutes. Oh well.

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Last night, I listened to Symphony No. 2 after several years of not listening to it and I'm rather impressed with it. It's a more subdued work than any of his other symphonies. I was doing some reading about it and it was premiered by Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Cleveland Orchestra in 1943. What do you guys think about this symphony? Any favorite performances? For this particular symphony, I think Neumann does a great job with it since it's more subtle, but Thomson handles it quite well too. I need to hear how Jarvi and Belohlavek handles it.

[Brian]

Last night, I listened to Symphony No. 2 after several years of not listening to it and I'm rather impressed with it. It's a more subdued work than any of his other symphonies.

Well, I for one think there must be a typo in there somewhere! The Second Symphony was the first one to catch my ears, and I still think it the most easily loved and least subdued of his symphonies*, because it's brimming with sunny tunes and catchy rhythms. The slow movement is an exception - it does fit your description, very enigmatic and doesn't build to a great climax like the Fourth does - but the first movement's main theme actually reminds me of Copland, a bit, with the piano in the background of this expansive wide-open range of violins.

*EDIT: Okay except for the scherzo of the Fourth. That thing's a firecracker.

Even now I can hear the exciting rush of the finale course through my mind. Belohlavek's energetic account is what got me into - well, frankly, into the symphonies in general. It glows. I had started listening to Martinu with the Sixth, and found it fascinating but aloof. After falling for the Second I listened to the rest in order. More thoughts on the cycle generally, later, perhaps.

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Well, I for one think there must be a typo in there somewhere! The Second Symphony was the first one to catch my ears, and I still think it the most easily loved and least subdued of his symphonies*, because it's brimming with sunny tunes and catchy rhythms. The slow movement is an exception - it does fit your description, very enigmatic and doesn't build to a great climax like the Fourth does - but the first movement's main theme actually reminds me of Copland, a bit, with the piano in the background of this expansive wide-open range of violins.

*EDIT: Okay except for the scherzo of the Fourth. That thing's a firecracker.

Even now I can hear the exciting rush of the finale course through my mind. Belohlavek's energetic account is what got me into - well, frankly, into the symphonies in general. It glows. I had started listening to Martinu with the Sixth, and found it fascinating but aloof. After falling for the Second I listened to the rest in order. More thoughts on the cycle generally, later, perhaps.

What I'm saying, Brian, compared to Martinu's other symphonies, the 2nd doesn't come busting out the speakers like the 4th or 5th, it weaves it's magic spell in a different way. It's a different expression and there's reason why I singled it out here. This said, I do love the shimmering sound-world this symphony inhabits. It's not my favorite Martinu symphony, but it could very become one of my favorites.

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I've been revisiting this set:



Listening to Symphony No. 2. Such an outstanding performance. This set is right up there with Neumann and Thomson, although, again, I need to revisit Jarvi's set at some point.

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Hey, Brian, I understand now what you mean by Symphony No. 2 having many fiery moments. It certainly does but every Martinu symphony has these moments. The finale of the 2nd is absolutely off the chain with cutting rhythms and radiant melodies. The first movement also contains some powerful moments especially after the music hits its' huge crescendo.

Do you own the Belohlavek set with the BBC Symphony? I can see why they won the Gramophone award. Not that it means much, but these are really excellent, clear-headed performances. The audio quality is also fantastic.

Now listening to Symphony No. 1 from the same set:

[Brian]

Yes, that's the set I have! Got it a few months ago when I moved to Dallas, and marathoned through it a couple times since. Listening to the first five symphonies together can be illuminating because they share so many traits, so many rhythmic patterns, and you even occasionally hear old themes appear in new costumes. I can't think of another composer's symphony cycle that is similarly - I don't know what the word is - that is so closely woven together. Maybe.

Not sure I'd call any symphony of his "subdued," but if I did, it would be the Third. Not because it's actually "subdued," but because when I think of my favorite moments from the symphonies, they're boisterous (Second), yearning/heroic (Fourth), mysterious/threatening (Sixth), but only in the Third are all my favorite moments quieter and more reflective. Especially the entrance of the string soloists in the finale...

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I'm actually listening to the 3rd right now and it's conceivably darker hued than its' predecessors. I like this symphony very much. Velimir loves this symphony and I believe he's commented on it many times throughout this thread. I'm going to have to read more about these symphonies as, like you said, there seems to be unifying force behind them all. It's so interesting that Martinu waited so long to compose a symphony. I wonder what took him so long? Before these symphonies, he was attracted to ballets, concertante works, and chamber music. Have you heard the song cycles Nipponari or Magic Nights yet, Brian? Consider this for your next Martinu purchase:



The song cycles are Debussyian in character with sustained chord voicings and delicate instrumentation. Color is very much key to these works' success. These works reveal a different side to Martinu that you may or may not be familiar with. The other piece of this recording is the Czech Rhapsody and it's quite a patriotic work in style, but it has great twists and turns throughout the work. In the end, only Martinu could have written this piece despite it not sounding like late-Martinu at all (it was written in 1918 I believe).

[snyprrr]

Check these out, snyprrr, when you have time:



Both are essential acquisitions for Martinu fans.

I've never heard Piano Concerto No.5. No.4 (RCA) is pretty 'magical' in its nature painting. How is No.5?

Don't you dare try to get me to binge on Martinu cds!!

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Listened to The Epic of Gilgamesh earlier, anyone else familiar with this work? It's a really cool work for soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra. Here's some more detail about the work taken from the Martinu Database:

In THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH, Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) created a vocal work whose individuality has earned it a special place in the annals of world musical literature. A major Czech composer who reached the climax of his career outside his native country, Martinů wrote it in early 1955. Written at the same period, during his stay in Nice, France, were works whose "Czech" character incorporated them permanently into the context of the musical culture of their composer homeland where they have since ranked alongside internationally known works of Dvořák, Smetana and Janáček, which are rooted in the same national tradition. All the more surprising, then, was the emergence in that neighbourhood of a composition whose focus was on entirely different spheres. It is as mysterious and exciting as its ancient model, the earliest literary relic of world culture. The Babylonian "Epic of Gilgamesh" probably harks back to the very dawn of Babylon's history. Oral tradition had given rise, since approximately the third millenium B. C., to several versions of Sumerian texts in verse form whose most relevant neo-Assyrian synthesis was unearthed with a series of twelve tablets, dating from around the seventh century B.C. Apart from that, several other versions of the epic have survived (including one in the Hittite language which was deciphered by Bedřich Hrozný, a prominent Czech orientalist), whose modern interpretation has involved considerable scholarly effort and demanding study.

The epic had crucial influence on other works, some of which including, for instance, the Bible, were later to acquire much broader impact. The above-mentioned neo-Assyrian version, which was translated into English by Reginald Campbell Thompson in 1930, was chosen by Martinů as the model for his vocal composition. So absorbed was he by the epic that he had spent several years studying its complex philosophical message before actually setting it to music.

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http://database.martinu.cz/pages/index/eng#

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I've never heard Piano Concerto No.5. No.4 (RCA) is pretty 'magical' in its nature painting. How is No.5?

Don't you dare try to get me to binge on Martinu cds!!

Yes, buy some more Martinu recordings!

The Piano Concerto No. 5 has some strong themes and I remember the slow movement was particularly beautiful. A lyrical beauty that one. Of course, those great Martinu rhythms that run through most of his music are also prevalent in the outer movements. An accomplished work.

[not edward]

Has anyone heard this recording:

[asin]B000069JNF[/asin]

I've read good things about it. Hurwitz gave it a 10/10 and said it's one of the finest recordings Supraphon has ever released. That seems a bit over-the-top.

OOP because the recordings on it were integrated into volumes 3 & 4 of the Hyperion complete Martinu violin concertos.

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OOP because the recordings on it were integrated into volumes 3 & 4 of the Hyperion complete Martinu violin concertos.

Oh...great! I own all those Hyperion recordings! Searching through Martinu collection...

Thanks, Edward. You saved me some money. I thought they were two different performances.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Last night, I listened to Symphony No. 2 after several years of not listening to it and I'm rather impressed with it. It's a more subdued work than any of his other symphonies. I was doing some reading about it and it was premiered by Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Cleveland Orchestra in 1943. What do you guys think about this symphony?

My hunch about this symphony is that it's Martinu's attempt to rewrite Brahms' 2nd. Just speculation on my part, but the structure and mood are very similar to the Brahms, although the whole is much more compressed at only 20-some minutes.

But yeah, very lovable, relaxed piece and more old-fashioned in feel than his other symphonies.