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Martinů: Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, Violin Sonata No. 3 & Five Short Pieces
Josef Špaček (violin), Miroslav Sekera (piano), Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Petr Popelka
Among other works featuring violin and orchestra, one of the most immediately appealing is the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, written in 1953 towards the end of his sojourn in the...
Martinů: Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, Violin Sonata No. 3 & Five Short Pieces
Josef Špaček (violin), Miroslav Sekera (piano), Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Petr Popelka
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Among other works featuring violin and orchestra, one of the most immediately appealing is the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, written in 1953 towards the end of his sojourn in the...
About
Bohuslav Martinu was a violinist himself, yet the piano colour in many of his symphonic scores is his actual signature. The two instruments are assigned solo roles in the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra (1953), commissioned by Benno and Sylvia Rabinof, who duly premiered it in May 1954. Written concurrently with Symphony No. 6 (Fantaisies symphoniques), the remarkable work is hardly ever performed nowadays. Different is the case of Violin Sonata No. 3 (1944), created in the USA too, which has long been a staple of violinists' repertoires worldwide. Amid the atmosphere of the imminent end of WWII and feeling homesick, Martinu conceived a monument whose duration is that of a symphony, a work teeming with contrastive drama and lyricism, and featuring a Dvorak-like nostalgia, evoking his Czech roots. In comparison with the two "American" works, the Cinq pieces breves (1930), dating from Martinu's Paris period, contain far rougher harmonies and piquancy, attesting to a penchant for the Charleston, as well as a propensity to the contrapuntal style. On their album, the globally renowned artists Josef Spacek and Miroslav Sekera present Martinu as an astute creator of chamber music and concertos, a composer both international and Czech, widely known and still being discovered alike.
Contents and tracklist
- Josef Špaček (violin), Miroslav Sekera (piano)
- Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
- Petr Popelka
- Josef Špaček (violin), Miroslav Sekera (piano)
- Josef Špaček (violin), Miroslav Sekera (piano)
Awards and reviews
November 2023
Among other works featuring violin and orchestra, one of the most immediately appealing is the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, written in 1953 towards the end of his sojourn in the United States and an exhilarating piece that is by turns optimistic and bittersweet...The central Adagio is rapturous, but even in the agitated finale the soloists Josef Špaček and Miroslav Sekera find delicacy at the heart of things.