Bohuslav Martinů - Complete Works for Violin and Piano

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Bohuslav Martinů - Complete Works for Violin and Piano

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Bohuslav Martinů - Complete Works for Violin and Piano
Classical, 20th Century | EAC+APE (IMG+CUE+LOG) | 1.08gb
Full HQ scans | 4 CD | RS, MU, HF, DF, ZS, BD, UL

This second volume of Martinu's complete works for violin and piano is every bit as fine as Volume One. The Arietta, Seven Arabesques, Sonatina, Rhythmic Études, and Intermezzo are all teaching pieces, simple in form but delightful in content, and fully worthy of the concert hall. When not performed as a set, any of the Arabesques or Études would make perfect encores (performers take note). The Violin Sonata No. 2 dates from 1931, and reflects the composer's interest in Jazz–a terse and refreshing work. Between 1943 and 1945, Martinu composed his last works for violin and piano: the Five Madrigal Stanzas, Sonata No. 3, and the Czech Rhapsody. All three pieces partake of the sunny lyricism, syncopated rhythms, and folk music inflections of his last period, and the sonata in particular is every bit as fine as the contemporary symphonies–indeed, it's clearly one of the finest violin/piano works written this century. Once again, Supraphon's two Czech artists play this music just about as well as it can be, and the recorded sound falls gratefully on the ear. In sum, this is a magnificently conceived and executed project that anyone who loves chamber music simply must hear. –David Hurwitz

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Bohuslav Martinů - Complete Works for Violin and Piano

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These two discs contain about half of Martinu's voluminous output for the combination of violin and piano, including three major early works: the Concerto for Violin and Piano, and the sonatas in C major and D minor. It's common for critics to talk about Martinu's early music as being "derivative," largely of French music of the early 1900s, but if this may be true from a formal point of view (Martinu never was an innovator in this area, preferring clear, simple musical structures all his life), it says nothing about his music's content, which has a sweetness and dreamy nostalgia that could come from no one else. The early pieces are extremely attractive and assured, particularly given the fact that the repertoire isn't exactly swimming in rewarding modern violin sonatas. They deserve to be heard in concert. The Impromptu, Sonata No. 1, and Five Short Pieces all date from the composer's early maturity, and feature the striking rhythms and spiky harmonies typical of his first years in Paris. These works are exceptionally well performed, and the recording offers ideal balances: the violin clearly in front, but not so much so that the piano isn't perfectly clear. A major chamber music release. –David Hurwitz

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Bohuslav Martinů - Complete Works for Violin and Piano

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Violin and piano were the instruments whose technical and expressive possibilities Bohuslav Martinu knew best. Thanks to the violin he made it from his home town of Policka to his conservatory studies in Prague and, in time, to the position of 2nd Violin in the Czech Philharmonic. Although his composing soon took precedence over his performing, and he sold his violin immediately upon arriving in Paris, the instrument remained with Martinu the composer for his entire life. Thus this complete works edition affords a rare glimpse into his continually evolving creative process. The project was undertaken by supremely qualified artists: Bohuslav Matousek, soloist and former 1st Violin of the Stamic Quartet has devoted himself to Martinu with boundless dedication and insight, frequently performing these works with pianist Petr Adamec both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Thus just as the 33-year-old Martinu once set out into the wide world with his violin tucked under his arm, so these artists bring his music to the world time and time again. – Supraphon