Martinů: The Complete Music for Violin & Orchestra, Vol. 1

Featuring

Janne Thomsen
Bohuslav Matoušek
Christopher Hogwood
Régis Pasquier
Jennifer Koh
Czech Philharmonic

Bohuslav Martinů

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Composer Biography

Bohuslav Martinu, the composer, spent his first eleven years in a church tower, where his father was the town's clock-keeper, and first learned violin using sticks as instruments.

Recording & Production

This album is the first of a four-disc series surveying Martinu's complete works for solo violin and orchestra, including compositions with other solo instruments.

Composer Biography

Martinu sold his violin shortly after moving to Paris in 1923 to study composition with Albert Roussel, in order to raise money.

Critical Reception

Despite successful premieres and performances, many of Martinu's concertante works, except those for oboe and viola, are now rarely performed outside the Czech Republic.

Historical Context

Martinu fled Paris in 1940 before the Nazi occupation, eventually settling in the United States, where he became one of the most performed living classical composers during World War II.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Martinu, like many Neo-Classical composers, was inspired by the Baroque concerto grosso, which features a group of solo instruments (concertino) against a full orchestra (ripieno).

Compositional Technique

Martinu's concerti grossi typically have three movements and depart from traditional sonata form, instead using continuous development of small patterns or 'cells'.