Mikhail Zemtsov, Neeme Jarvi - Martinů: Suites from 'Spalicek', Rhapsody-Concerto (2016)

This album with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and its artistic director, Neeme Jarvi, features two mature works by Martinu, recorded in the splendid acoustic of the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn. One of the most wide-ranging composers of music for the stage, Martinu was also enthusiastic about the theatrical possibilities of including new media in his operas. Spalicek in many ways belongs to this experimental tendency. Although it was published and billed at its first performance as a ballet, it might best be described as an opera-ballet, as alongside the many dances there are extensive roles for chorus as well as tenor, soprano, and bass soloists. Martinu described the work on his manuscript as deriving from folk games, customs, and fairytales. The lyrical Rhapsody-Concerto was written in 1952, at a time when Martinu was fighting homesickness and depression, worsened by the political situation in his native Czechoslovakia. The work is a marked move toward a more romantic sound world. The soloist here is Mikhail Zemtsov, principal violist of the Residentie Orchestra The Hague since 2001 and a prize winner at the first International Viola Competition (Vienna) and the Elisa Meyer String Competition (Hamburg). The exploration by Jarvi and the ENSO of hidden gems from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has proved highly successful, their recent recording of works by Suchon (CHAN10849) awarded the Choc de Classica.

Track List:
Bohuslav Martinu: Spalicek Suite No. 1, H. 214a
I. Predehra (Prelude)
II. Tanec se zajicem (Dance with the Hare)
III. V palaci cernokneznikove (In the Magician's Palace): Tanec stinu (Dance of the Shadows)
III. V palaci cernokneznikove (In the Magician's Palace): Tanec lva (Dance of the Lion)
III. V palaci cernokneznikove (In the Magician's Palace): Tanec krahujce (Dance of the Sparrow-hawk)
III. V palaci cernokneznikove (In the Magician's Palace): Tanec male mysky (Dance of the Little Mouse)

Spalicek (The Chap-Book) Suite No. 1, H. 214a
III. V palaci cernokneznikove (In the Magician's Palace): Promena a tanec Kocoura v botach (Change of Scene and Dance of Puss in Boots)

Spalicek Suite No. 1, H. 214a
IV. Popelcin ples na zamku (Cinderella's Ball at the Palace)
V. Svatebni Polka (The Wedding Polka)

Bohuslav Martinu: Spalicek Suite No. 2, H. 214b
I. Tanec certu (Dance of the Devils)
II. Sevcova rozmarna zakaznice (The Shoemaker's Capricious Patron)
III. Trh - Tanec cmelaka (The Market - Dance of the Bumble-bee)
IV. Vysvobozeni princeznino (The Rescue of the Princess): Cerne mesto (The Black City)
IV. Vysvobozeni princeznino (The Rescue of the Princess): Nestastna princezna (The Unhappy Princess)
IV. Vysvobozeni princeznino (The Rescue of the Princess): Zapas motyla s obrem (The Struggle between the Butterfly and the Giant)
V. Tanec dvornich dam a venkovskych devcat (Dance of the Ladies-in-waiting and the Country Maidens)
VI. V zakletem zamku (At the Enchanted Castle)
VII. V kouzelne mosne (In the Magic Bag)

Bohuslav Martinu: Rhapsody-Concerto, H. 337
I. Moderato
II. Molto adagio - Allegro

Performers:
Mikhail Zemtsov (viola)
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

rec. 30 September – 3 October 2014; 2-3 July 2015, Estonian Concert Hall, Tallinn