Top 5 Favorite Martinů Works

Started by Mirror Image, July 30, 2016, 09:13:46 AM

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Mirror Image

July 30, 2016, 09:13:46 AM Last Edit: July 30, 2016, 09:16:27 AM by Mirror Image


Okay guys, what are your 'Top 5' favorite Martinů works?

My list (in no particular order):

Double Concerto
Oboe Concerto
Chamber Music No. 1 (quite a generic title but such a mesmerizing work)
Symphony No. 4
Nipponari

Such a daunting task and this could change on a whim since there's so much of his music that I adore.

Dancing Divertimentian

#1
July 30, 2016, 05:18:45 PM
Leaving out the usual suspects, Julietta, Double Concerto, and anything on MI's list (must acknowledge the Oboe Concerto, though!):

The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca
The Voice of the Forest (opera)
Toccata e Due Canzoni
String quartet No.4
The Parables


Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Mirror Image

#2
July 30, 2016, 05:45:22 PM
Great list, DD! LOVE The Parables. Estampes and The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca all form some kind of trilogy. I believe Estampes is the last orchestral work Martinu composed.

Dancing Divertimentian

#3
July 30, 2016, 09:40:55 PM
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 30, 2016, 05:45:22 PM
Great list, DD! LOVE The Parables. Estampes and The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca all form some kind of trilogy. I believe Estampes is the last orchestral work Martinu composed.

Thanks kindly! Interesting about the trilogy. I'll have to do a little digging on that. If you ever get the chance try to hear The Voice of the Forest, for the simple reason it's quite possibly the most lyrical score he wrote (I haven't heard anything to top it but I haven't yet heard everything by Martinu). It's still unmistakable Martinu, though, filled with hairpin twists and quirky rhythms. Very worthwhile.

   
Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Mirror Image

#4
July 30, 2016, 09:56:08 PM
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on July 30, 2016, 09:40:55 PM
Thanks kindly! Interesting about the trilogy. I'll have to do a little digging on that. If you ever get the chance try to hear The Voice of the Forest, for the simple reason it's quite possibly the most lyrical score he wrote (I haven't heard anything to top it but I haven't yet heard everything by Martinu). It's still unmistakable Martinu, though, filled with hairpin twists and quirky rhythms. Very worthwhile.



Thanks for the recommendation, DD. Does The Voice of the Forest exist in a recording perhaps?

Edit - I see that it does:

[asin]B00004OCEP[/asin]

The new erato

#5
July 30, 2016, 11:16:45 PM
I'm unable to make a list, but think that the violin concerto no 2 deserves a mention amongst the fine works mentioned above.

Christo

#6
July 31, 2016, 03:32:43 AM
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 30, 2016, 05:45:22 PM
Great list, DD! LOVE The Parables. Estampes and The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca all form some kind of trilogy. I believe Estampes is the last orchestral work Martinu composed.

As they form a sort of trilogy in line with the 'fantastic' Sixth Symphony, one could even see them as symphonies nos.  7, 8 and 9. At least I do.  :)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

TheGSMoeller

#7
July 31, 2016, 04:59:52 AM
Been a long while since I've really listened to Martinu, but from my memory these are the works I really enjoy...

Piano Quintet No. 2
Concerto for Harpsichord and Little Orchestra
Les Fresques De Piero Francesca
Piano Concerto No. 4
Symphony No. 5

Archaic Torso of Apollo

#8
July 31, 2016, 08:54:16 AM
Quote from: The new erato on July 30, 2016, 11:16:45 PM
I'm unable to make a list, but think that the violin concerto no 2 deserves a mention amongst the fine works mentioned above.

Ditto to this post. I'm not going to make a list, since I couldn't keep it to a mere 5. (15 maybe)
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

vandermolen

#9
July 31, 2016, 09:01:57 AM Last Edit: July 31, 2016, 09:03:48 AM by vandermolen
Frescoes of Piero della Francesca
Symphony 4
Epic of Gilgamesh
Parables
Memorial to Lidice


(If more than one symphony is allowed I would choose 'Fantasies Symphoniques' as my final choice)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dancing Divertimentian

#10
July 31, 2016, 05:02:53 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on July 31, 2016, 09:01:57 AM
Epic of Gilgamesh

Great choice. Gilgamesh could easily crack my top five.


Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Brian

#11
August 02, 2016, 08:55:31 AM
This is one of the hardest of these "Top 5" polls for me - nearly as hard as Beethoven or Haydn would be.

Right this very moment the answer is:

Symphony No. 2 (1943)
Symphony No. 4 (1945)
Nonet (1959)
Double (Violins) Concerto (1950)
Oboe Concerto (1955)

Contenders: Symphony No. 3, Overture, Sinfonietta La Jolla, Toccata e due canzoni, Piano Sonata, Chamber Music No. 1, Violin Concerto No. 2, Double (Pianos) Concerto, Magic Nights, several of the string quartets, the very early Little Dance Suite.

Worth observing, though, that all my favorite stuff is from post-1940. I like a lot of his '20s and '30s work as well, but it's more disposable/interchangeable.

Very smug to be the first person to mention the perfect Nonet!

North Star

#12
August 02, 2016, 09:07:45 AM
Quote from: Brian on August 02, 2016, 08:55:31 AM
Very smug to be the first person to mention the perfect Nonet!
That's the one work I'm 100% sure would be on my list.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Dax

#13
August 02, 2016, 10:15:57 AM
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Bouquet of flowers (cantata), by perhaps it's not so well-known?

Mirror Image

#14
August 02, 2016, 10:42:11 AM
Quote from: Dax on August 02, 2016, 10:15:57 AM
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Bouquet of flowers (cantata), by perhaps it's not so well-known?

It's not well-known and to my knowledge only has one recording. This doesn't, of course, mean it's a bad work or not worth hearing but just that listeners that are just getting into Martinu will probably explore other works first (i. e. the symphonies, ballets, concerti, chamber music, operas).

Dax

#15
August 02, 2016, 11:16:24 AM
Most of those who have contributed a list of 5 appear to be fairly knowledgable in fact.

The one recording to which you refer is, I assume, the one conducted by Ancerl on Supraphon. There are other performances on YouTube, but Ancerl wins hands down.

North Star

#16
October 31, 2017, 05:59:54 AM
Well, I took a while compiling this list ;)

Nonet H. 374
Double Concerto for two string orchestras, piano & timpani H. 271
Piano Concerto No. 4 'Incantations' H. 358
Sonatina for 2 violins & piano, H. 198
Mikes of the Mountains for soprano, tenor, chorus, strings & piano, H. 375
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Mirror Image

#17
October 31, 2017, 06:38:45 AM
Quote from: North Star on October 31, 2017, 05:59:54 AM
Well, I took a while compiling this list ;)

Nonet H. 374
Double Concerto for two string orchestras, piano & timpani H. 271
Piano Concerto No. 4 'Incantations' H. 358
Sonatina for 2 violins & piano, H. 198
Mikes of the Mountains for soprano, tenor, chorus, strings & piano, H. 375

Great list, Karlo! 8) I need to give Sonatina for 2 violins & piano a listen as I don't remember it.

My list is subject to change and it very well could rather soon as I'm reacquainting myself with some various works in my collection that I haven't heard in a long time.

amw

#18
October 31, 2017, 06:40:02 AM
Piano Quartet
Les Fresques
The Parables
Symphony No. 1
Violin Concerto No. 2

The Piano Quartet has always been my favourite Martinů piece, the rest are in some kind of order. Symphony No. 2 is creeping up on No. 1 though.

Mirror Image

#19
October 31, 2017, 06:43:16 AM
Quote from: amw on October 31, 2017, 06:40:02 AM
Piano Quartet
Les Fresques
The Parables
Symphony No. 1
Violin Concerto No. 2

The Piano Quartet has always been my favourite Martinů piece, the rest are in some kind of order. Symphony No. 2 is creeping up on No. 1 though.

Great looking list, amw. Is there a particular recording of the Piano Quartet that you can recommend? This is a work that is surprisingly not in my Martinu collection.
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