INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN ISSERLIS OPERA JULIETTE IN … · 23 February 2013 > Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall, Prague, CZ HOMAGE TO RUDOLF FIRKUŠNÝ — Fantasy and Toccata, H.281 Jiří

THE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ FOUNDATIONTHE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ INSTITUTE

THE INTERNATIONAL MARTINŮ CIRCLE

SEPTEMBER—DECEMBER 2012 VOL.XII NO.3INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN ISSERLIS

OPERA JULIETTE IN LONDON

CZECH CELLIST MILOŠ SÁDLO AND BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ

SPECIAL ISSUE –MARTINŮ CALENDAR 2013 !

EVENTS / NEWS

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3 highlightsOPERAS / BALLET / CONCERTS

4 IMC founding membersOLDŘICH FRANTIŠEK KORTEALEŠ BŘEZINA

5 incircle news

6 reviewsJULIETTE AT THE ENGLISHNATIONAL OPERAPATRICK LAMBERT

MAREK PECHAČ

9 researchMILOŠ SÁDLO AND BOHUSLAV MARTINŮMAREK PECHAČ

11 special seriesLIST OF MARTINŮ’S WORKS XI

12 interviewWITH JIŘÍ BĚLOHLÁVEKPETR VEBER, LUBOŠ STEHLÍK

reviewRECITAL BY MAXIM RYSANOV & ASHLEY WASSMARK TODD

14 reviewsA PROVOCATIVELY POETICTHEATRE BEHIND THE GATELUCIE DERCSÉNYIOVÁ

16 interviewWITH RADIM VIZVÁRYLUCIE JIRGLOVÁ

18 interviewWITH STEVEN ISSERLISLUCIE HARASIM BERNÁ

19 news

NEW CDsDAVID OISTRAKH 100th Birthday Edition: Violin Concertos & Chamber Music CD20 CD set CD 11: Martinů: Sonata for Violin and Piano, H. 303

David Oistrakh (Violin), Frida Bauer (Piano)Recorded 1964Brilliant Classics 9056, 2011

MARTINŮLa revue de cuisine, H. 161 (Complete Ballet)

Concerto for Harpsichord

and Small Orchestra, H. 246

Chamber Music No. 1, H. 376

Les rondes, H. 200

Holst-SinfoniettaRobert Hill (Harpsichord), Klaus Simon (Conductor, Piano)Recorded 2009Naxos 8.572485, 2012

ISRAELI CHAMBER PROJECTOpus 1 Saint-Saëns, Martinů, Porat, Debussy, BartókMartinů: Chamber Music No. 1, H. 376

Tibi Cziger (Clarinet), Itamar Zorman (Violin), Shmuel Katz (Viola), Michael Korman (Cello), Assaff Weisman (Piano)Azica Records, 2012

BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ DAYS 2010Trio No. 2, H. 327

Orbis TrioRecorded 2011Epic of Gilgamesh, H. 351

Cantata for Soloists, Speaker, Mixed Chorus and OrchestraHistorical recording, recorded 1959Marylin Horne (Soprano), Otto Wiener (Bass), Murray Dickie (Tenor), Walter Berry (Bass), Ernst Meister (Speaker)Philharmonia Hungarica, Wiener Singakademie, Paul Sacher (Conductor)Bohuslav Martinů Foundation, 2012, PROMO NBM 15

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10 & 11 January 2013> Culture House, Ostrava, CZSymphony No.4, H. 305

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislav Vavřínek (Conductor)

23 February 2013> Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall, Prague, CZHOMAGE TO RUDOLF FIRKUŠNÝ — Fantasy and Toccata, H. 281

Jiří Kollert (Piano)

27 April 2013> Royal Festival Hall, London, UKDouble Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani, H. 271

Vladimir Jurowski (Conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra

6 March & 11 March 2013> Staatsoper, Wien, AustriaDouble Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani, H. 271

Ballet Title: Before NightfallNils Christe (Choreographer) Wiener Staatsballett, Markus Lehtinen (Conductor)Thomas Rupert (Stage setting), Annegien Sneep (Costumes)

28 January 2013> New Stage of National Theatre, Prague

OPERA 2013 — 11th FESTIVAL OF MUSIC THEATRE / 3 January – 3 February 2013, Prague

Theatre Behind the Gate, H. 251

Radim Vizváry (Director and Choreography), Valentina Shuklina (Conductor)NOS (INDEPENDENT OPERA STUDIO – Students of Prague Academy of Musical Arts)

www.festival-opera.cz

17 & 22 April 2013> National Theatre Prague Plays of Mary, H. 236

Musical preparation: Jiří Bělohlávek / Conductor: Jiří Bělohlávek, David Švec / Stage director: Jiří HeřmanSets: Pavel Svoboda / Costumes: Alexandra Grusková / Chorus master: Pavel Vaněk, Lukáš VasilekChoreography: Jan Kodet / Dramaturgy: Ondřej Hučín / Chorus master of the Kühn's Children's Choir: Jiří ChválaLights: Daniel Tesař

www.narodni-divadlo.cz

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/ ALEŠ BŘEZINA

OLDŘICH FRANTIŠEK KORTE is a man ofimmense paradoxes. Infinitely kind-hearted andat the same time uncompromisingly critical. He wasjailed by the Nazis and, twice, by the Communists(the first time for attempting to leave the republicto go to study composition with Bohuslav Martinů),yet he has never grown embittered. Perhaps thehardest struggle he has waged (besides the strugglewith himself and with his stubborn osessivenessthat in hindsight, according to his own words, hasoften worsened his karma) was that with his father,whom he loved and admired deeply. Of all hisartistic activities (writing books, intensive creativeand performance work for theatre, film and, aboveall, Laterna magika), he has devoted the least timeand effort to the one that has gained him the great -est and most enduring fame: composing concertmusic. Oldřich F. Korte often, and with pleasure,says that there are too many bad or average worksout there, that it is better that he only write a fewyet be particular about them. And this he has trulysucceeded in – virtually all of his compositions rankamong the very finest written in Europe in thesecond half of the 20th century. He is proud of allthe works of his that have been published, but hehas done practically nothing to get them performed.Instead, he has tried to help other artists. The timeit has taken him to complete pieces is simply aston -ishing – the Concerto grosso for trumpets, flutes,piano and strings, for instance, originated between1954 and 1985 – yet not one of them shows a seam,discontinuity, interruption, a suggestion of changein style and creative concentration. He considersthe highest value to be friendship, the spiritual lifeand continuous intellectual development.

I vividly recall the first time we met. It was inthe summer of 1990, at a conference marking thecentenary of Bohuslav Martinů’s birth. Oldřich readan enthusiastic letter Bohuslav Martinů had writtento Miloš Šafránek, in which the composer laudsKorte’s peerless analysis of his works. Martinůwrites that to date no one has made so accurate ananalysis of his music and its sources. Korte deeplyregretted that owing to the closed borders thegreatest dream of his life couldn’t come true – to goand study composition with Martinů in the USA.Resigned to remaining behind the Iron Curtain,he passionately and fully devoted himself to cham -pi oning the music of Bohuslav Martinů, who at thetime was considered by the official critics a traitor,renegade and capitalist lackey. Korte’s polemicsagainst the regime’s intellectually far less maturecritics of Martinů are legendary and would warrantpublishing alongside the texts they so rigorouslyand uncompromisingly contradict. After he hadgiven his speech, all the musicologists and musi -cians in the hall were overwhelmed. I still regretthat no conference proceedings were issued andhence this seminal, largely improvised lecture hasnever been published. Korte and I became rapt inconversation and he, a fervent debater, drove meback to my doorstep, yet I only entered the house

following several more hours of inspiring conver -sation on the front seats of his car. My neck wasstrained for a whole week, yet it was well worth it.

We didn’t start seeing each other regularly until1995, when, upon the initiative of Viktor Kalabisand the Board of Trustees of the Bohuslav MartinůFoundation, of which Oldřich was a member,I established the Bohuslav Martinů Institute.The main topic of our conversations was always,naturally, our beloved composer and seeking waysto raise awareness of his music in a lucid mannerand among as many people as possible. The mosttangible result of these frenzied debates was therelease of the 4-CD set Martinů – Selected Master -pieces in 2001, for which we together had theunenviable task of selecting from among Martinů’sgargantuan œuvre 20 seminal compositionsspanning all the genres of his creation in the bestavailable recordings. Oldřich’s introductory essayis one of the finest texts ever written about Martinů.So as to make it accessible to music-lovers theworld over, we published an abridged version inEnglish in the Bohuslav Martinů Newsletter No. 1,January–April 2002, pp 10–16.

Korte’s love of Martinů’s music is absolute andanchored in a perfect balance between an analy -tical mind and widely open feeling. His spiritedanalytical texts on Martinů’s works are a pleasure

for all perceptive readers (and a trans lator’snightmare). I cannot resist taking the opportunityto quote at least two short examples of his singularstyle. Both of them are from the analysis of thefirst movement of the Concerto for Oboe and SmallOrchestra in Korte’s extensive unpublished essay(16 pages).

The soloist, by the time fully warmed up, hasbecome so enamoured of his instrument that overthe twenty-two-bar area of the next strophe (95–116)he revels in playing for playing’s sake and the sheerjoy of technique, as though only now discovered inthe form of entirely simple figurative passages ofpredominantly triplet semiquaver motion (for the sakeof whose smooth execution the composer allowedfor a small, strategic slowing down of the tempo).

At a later junction, he describes his analyticalmethod, whose starting premise is “a type of(possibly subjective) view that would above allnot take issue with the composer’s intentions butwould strive optimally to approximate the formand character of the composition within the boundsof the given treatise.”

Yet that which in this movement compels continualabsorption and a deep response on the part of theaudience is the immensely powerful and concentratedemotional charge, the inner content of the com po si -tion, its human message (should we still be so bold asto apply a notion that has been profaned so manytimes). Yes, at that moment, we find ourselves on theslippery and precarious ground of utmost subjec -tivism, artificial structures, exegetic mystificationsand verbal cliché. And even if we do our best to talkabout the matter truthfully and in a novel manner,now and then we audaciously identify our ownfeelings about the composition with the assumedfeelings and intentions of the composer, which wedo not actually know. We can especially never becautious enough when it comes to our approach tothe works of Bohuslav Martinů, who had dealt withthis issue in particular and tortured himself over itthroughout his life.

That premise and all the mentioned risks notwith -standing, I would still like to attempt a personal formof “sensation-based” interpretation or description,which, under repeated strong impression, I do notwant to avoid in principle. I believe that it is possibleto talk about personal impressions and reflectionsa given piece of music evokes in us, without havingto absolutise the validity of our description, andwithout feeling entitled to convey the ideas, impres -sions and reflections the composer felt when writingthe composition.

At the present time, it saddens me to say, OldřichF. Korte (b. 1926) is not in the best of health.His works, however, are still being performed byleading Czech orchestras. The world-famous pianistGarrick Ohlsson added the Sonata for Piano(1951–53) to his repertoire in 2009 and since thattime has performed it at dozens of concerts all overthe world. The same work has also been embracedby the outstanding Brazilian pianist Patricia Bretas,who has also recorded it on a CD and is currentlywriting a thesis on the composer and his œuvre.I personally am delighted that the music worldhas started repaying Oldřich F. Korte for thatwhich he has given to others, Bohuslav Martinůin particular. ❚

KORTEOLDŘICH FRANTIŠEK

GENERAL INFORMATIONMembers receive the illustratedMartinů Revue published three timesa year plus a special limited edition CDcontaining world premieres, historicperformances and archival recordingsfrom the annual Martinů Festival notobtainable commercially.

The IMC is supported by the Bohu -slav Martinů Foundation and BohuslavMartinů Institute in Prague.

MEMBERSHIP & SUBSCRIPTIONINFORMATION> YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION:

25 EUR / 30 USD / 18 GBP / 450 CZK> SUBSCRIPTION FOR CORPORATE

MEMBERS: 100 EURincludes 10 copies of each RevuePLUS 3 copies of the special limitededition CD> SPECIAL RATE for music students

under 25 years of age: 10 EUR / 250 CZK> SINGLE COPIES OF THE REVUE:

80 CZK / 3 EUR / 4 USD + postage

For further details and for single copiesof the Martinů Revue contact:Jana Honzíkovátel.: +420 284 691 529,

+420 731 419 873e-mail: [email protected] International Martinů Circle, o.s. Bořanovická 1779/14 182 00 Praha 8-Kobylisy, CZ

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS> Julia Fady, France> Darren Niman, Great Britain

The IMCannualCD withhistoricalrecording(Gilgamesh,Vienna 1959)and recordingfrom theannual festival Martinů Days 2010in Prague is available now!

[�DEAR MEMBERS...)WE OFFER CONGRATULATIONS TO JIŘÍ BĚLOHLÁVEK (one of our founding mem-bers), whose recording of the six Martinů symphonies with the BBC SymphonyOrchestra (Onyx 4061) continues to be critically acclaimed. It was nominated fora Grammy award (U.S.) and won the Gramophone award in the Orchestral cate-gory. I personally feel they are the finest recordings of these magnificent works.For an interview with the conductor see page 12 in this issue.

Reviewers of the album also remarked on the excellent accompanying notes byMichael Crump. I will take time to remind members of his thorough study: Mar -tinů and the Symphony (Toccata Press, 2009).

The English National Opera performed a very well-received production of Juli-ette, in David Pountney’s English translation, directed by Richard Jones and con-ducted by Edward Gardner. You can read reviews of the opera on page 6-8.

We look forward to the Bohuslav Martinů Days 2012 (2–21 Dec.) in Pragueand the 18th Martinů Festtage (17–30 Nov.) in Basel – look for reviews in thenext Revue.

Please remember we are always looking for new members and appreciate yoursupport! Robert Simon, chairman

[�OBITUARY)ON 12 OCTOBER 2012, the composer GeraldineMuchová, one of the founding members of theInternational Martinů Circle, died in Prague at theage of 95. She was the wife of the writer JiříMucha and daughter-in-law of the painter AlfonsMucha. Jiří Mucha was a long-time friend of Bohu -slav Martinů. Gregory Terian’s biographical articleabout Geraldine Muchová was published in Mar -tinů Revue No. 2, May–August 2011, page 15.

[�2013 SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENTS)WE WOULD REQUEST members to forward their 2013 subscription pay-ments through their usual channels. A list of our international contacts:

> Phillip C. Boswell (Great Britain), [email protected], 3 Warren Croft,Storrington, RH20 4BE Great Britain

> Patrice Chevy (France), [email protected], +33675620321,11 Résidence FOCH, 923 80 Garches, France

> Geoff Piper (Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria), [email protected],+352-474269, 24, rue des Cerisiers, Luxembourg, L – 1322 Luxembourg

> Gert Floor (Netherlands), [email protected], +31725095262, Gortersweg 6,1871 CC Schoorl, Netherlands

> Robert Simon (USA), [email protected], mobile number 216-973-7716 , 322 E Colfax Ave #103, South Bend, IN 46617, USA

> Jaroslav Šonský (Sweden), [email protected], +4611318475,Knopgatan 6, 603 85 Norrköping, Sweden

> Lucie and Clemens Harasim (Germany), [email protected], +49 152 581 668 32

Members who pay their subscriptions via the Dvořák Society should con-tinue to do so. Those wishing to pay in Czech currency or by cash shouldcontact us at [email protected]. ❚


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MARTINŮ REVUE (formerly BohuslavMartinů Newsletter) is published by theInternational Martinů Circle in collabo ra -tion with the Bohuslav Martinů Institutein Prague with the financial support ofthe Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Prague.Published with the financial supportof the Ministry of Culture of CzechRepublic, code No. MKCRP004H2RO.

Editors Zoja Seyčková & Lucie Harasim,Bohuslav Martinů InstituteJustin Krawitz (with special thanks)

Publisher’s OfficeInternational Martinů Circle, o.s.IČ: 22688846Bořanovická 14, 182 00 Praha 8-Kobylisy,Czech Republice-mail: [email protected]

Translation Hilda Hearne

Photographs The Bohuslav Martinů Foundation’sand Institute’s archive, collections of theBohuslav Martinů Center in Polička

Graphic Design David E. Cígler

Printing BOOM TISK, spol. s r.o.

The Martinů Revue is published three times a year in Prague.

CoverBohuslav Martinů: Juliette, H. 253,from English National Opera.Emelie Renard, Clare Presland, SamanthaPrice (Gentlemen), Peter Hoare (Michel)photo: richard hubert smithISSN 1803-8514 MK ČR E 18911

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THE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ CENTER IN POLIČKA offers an interesting, inter -actively conceived exhibition on the com -poser’s life and work. The modern display ofBohuslav Martinů’s life and work is locatedin the historical building of the formercouncil school, which Martinů attendedas a child. Consequently, the project alsocomprises a reproduction of Martinů’sclassroom, complete with period paintingand furniture. The centre also containsan audio-visual hall and study room.

Bohuslav Martinů Center Tylova 114, 572 01 Polička tel.: +420 461 723 857 www.cbmpolicka.cz

Magdalena Kožená,IMC Patron

Jakub Hrůša,President of IMC �) INCIRCLE NEWS

swaying to the sound of the accordion likezombies trapped in a kind of limbo is perfectlyeffective, but to have the two main protagonistsinvoluntarily shaking their arms as if beingmanipulated by the invisible hand of some masterpuppeteer is a mere distraction, as is the conceitof having the irascible Old Woman, who answersMichel’s knocking at the door towards the endof second act, appear in an identical dress toJuliette’s – something Michel does not seem tonotice. And did it really add anything to have theSeller of Memories arrive Tardis-like in a bedroomcupboard announcing himself through a letter -box? During the magical scene in which a pianosolo accompanies the reminiscences of theelderly couple in the forest, an apparition ofJuliette seated at a grand piano glides acrossthe back of the stage.

Perhaps the most questionable aspect ofENO’s production is the re-interpretation of theending of the opera. With his dream officially

luminosity and brilliance, but where was thedisturbing undertow of tragedy?

After seeing the Paris production, my mainreservation had been that by showing Michelemerge at the very outset from a group ofslumbering figures, it established far tooobviously that the entire play is only a dream,thereby undermining the essential ambiguityof the first act, during which Michel becomesincreasingly disorientated in a world that“balances on the fine edge of reality andillusion” (Martinů’s own description). This hasthe effect of distancing the audience fromthe action, hindering its identification withthe plight of the helpless bookseller slowlysuccumbing to his dream.

Perhaps in an attempt to freshen up theten-year-old staging and justify the description“new production”, ENO has made severalfurther modifications, not all of them, in myview, improvements. The passive townsfolk

JULIETTE – A MERE DREAM AT THEENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA?/ PATRICK LAMBERT

JULIETTE received its UK premiere at theLondon Coliseum back in 1978 when it wasconducted by Charles Mackerras, producedby Anthony Besch and sung in the Englishtranslation by Brian Large. Like the charactersin the opera itself, I have only vague memories,but I do recall that during the Orient Expressepisode the image of Julietta (Sally Burgess),captured on film, was projected overhead.Now, after a gap of more than 30 years,Juliette makes a welcome reappearance atthe ENO in what is billed as a “new production”,sung in David Pountney’s idiomatic, thoughrather free translation (made for Opera North’smuch praised production in 1997) and withMartinů’s exhilarating locomotive rhythmsexcised, which is a pity. This is in fact anadaptation of the Paris National Opera’sproduction premiered at the Palais Garnier in2002 conducted by Marc Albrecht and revivedin 2006, when it was given with Martinů’snewly discovered French text at the OpéraBastille under the baton of Jiří Bělohlávek –I was lucky enough to have caught the lastperformance. The production team for thisENO staging is the same, notably the directorRichard Jones and designer Antony McDonald,as are the visually striking sets based on a giantaccordion. The new ENO cast, headed by thetenor Peter Hoare as Michel with the Swedishsoprano Julia Sporsén in the title role, enteredadmirably into the spirit of Martinů’s strangetwilight world of forgetting and won high praisefrom the critics, as did the playing of theENO Orchestra conducted with commitmentand conviction by Edward Gardner, MusicDirector of ENO since 2007. All in all, theyworked together to create an excellent eveningof entertainment. But was it sufficientlythought-provoking, as this masterpiece ofdoubt and uncertainty really should be? To besure, Martinů’s score was presented in all its

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JULIETTE /THE KEY TO DREAMS/

over, but still hearing the siren voice of hisfemme fatale, Michel takes his pillow and formsthe final ‘a’ of “Julietta” scrawled on the curtainin spidery white lettering created by othersleeping figures – as also in the original Parisproduction, except the letter is ‘e’ for the Frenchspelling of the name. But then, as his dreambegins all over again, instead of the Old Arabconfirming the existence of the hotel he islooking for “C’est ici!”, Michel, suitcase in hand,sleepwalks into the renewal of his dream and istold “There’s no such place”. At this he joins theranks of the zombiefied townsfolk. In my view,this is a misconceived alteration to the endingenvisaged by Martinů, who himself had deliber -ately changed Georges Neveux’s original ending– with the author’s approval. Rather thanwaking to a grey existence in the real world,Michel, risking madness, chooses consciouslynot to abandon the girl of his dreams, andhaving the Old Arab reply immediately in the

affirmative to Michel’s enquiry provides a glim -mer of hope that this time round, in his ‘newreality’, he may be more successful in his quest.

ENO’s promotional blurb in their booklet forthe new season poses the question: “Is he theonly sane man in the world where everyone elsehas lost their memory, or a mad man trappedin a recurring dream from which there is noescape?” We do not have to wait until the endfor an answer: it is shown to be a dream fromthe very outset. While many of the reviewswere highly positive and full of praise, theflaws in the production, which in my opinionhave undermined the power of the piece (thereviewer in my local paper described it as “verymuch an opera for the age of dementia”), mightexplain the very grumpy reception given to it bythe Telegraph critic Rupert Christiansen, whichcannot simply be dismissed with the thoughtthat he had probably got out of bed on thewrong side that day: “There’s only one problem

with this highly imaginative production andmusically immaculate performance of Martinů’sJuliette, but unfortunately, it is a crippling one.The opera itself is really not very good… It isbased on that tiresome premise ‘it’s all a dream’… How can one take any interest in a dream,if one is given no anchor in the reality which itrelates to? … “

Perhaps the moral to be drawn from this isthat producers of Juliette should be wary oftampering with what Martinů himself called“the most secret core of art – poesy, thatfragile thing that can bear the touch only ofthose who seek it and need it for their life, whoapproach it as the most beautiful thing thathuman life can bestow and who do not wishto transform it [my italics], but accept it just asit is in its pure form of intangible and absolutebeauty…”. (Letter of thanks to Václav Talich,27 March, 1938 after the Prague premiere).

The interpretation of dreams is a risky busi -ness, their re-interpretation even riskier. ❚

JULIETTE AT ENGLISHNATIONAL OPERA22 SEPTEMBER 2012/ MAREK PECHAČ

JULIETTE, an opera based on a play by theFrench dramatist Georges Neveux, is, alongsideThe Greek Passion, often considered to be theapex of Bohuslav Martinů’s operatic œuvre.In spite of this, every new performance of thework is a feast. Hence, Juliette’s return to thestage of English National Opera (ENO) was aneagerly awaited event. It is worth recalling thatthe opera’s British premiere only took placeat the London Coliseum in 1978, some fourdecades after its very first performance. Thenext UK production was prepared by OperaNorth in Leeds in 1997, and twelve years laterthe work was presented to London audiences inJiří Bělohlávek’s concert version at the BarbicanCentre. In recent years, the seldom performedopera has been staged in Europe on a numberof occasions in Richard Jones’s production,


LYRIC OPERA IN 3 ACTS / H.253

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Emelie Renard, Clare Presland, Samantha Price (Gentlemen)

The tenor Peter Hoare dazzled both as singerand actor in the demanding lead role of Michel,who hardly ever leaves the stage. He portrayedthe character with a breathtaking certainty,freshness and technical precision, and, owingto the wide scale of his expressive abilities,succeeded in depicting perfectly the hero’svarious inner traits. His performance wasnatural, and we would be hard pressed indeedto imagine a more visually fitting Michel, theshy book-seller. On the other hand, JuliaSporsén unfortunately was not an ideal Juliette.Although the Swedish singer captivated withher singular singing, her portrayal of thecharacter lacked the required lightness andcharm. Her Juliette wasn’t the ethereal creatureand embodiment of the male and, for thatmatter, universal human desire for love, asMartinů himself described the character in hisNotes on Juliette in 1938: “Juliette herself isa symbol of desire; all the girls in the play arecalled Juliette, and all the characters seek thisone and only name.” The casting of the minorroles was faultless, with the young singerEmilie Renard excelling as the Little Arab, FirstGentleman and Bell Boy.

To sum up: despite minor imperfections, theold-new production of Juliette has garneredacclaim in another major European city. No -tably, the majority of the ENO audience wasafforded the great opportunity to get to knowa Bohuslav Martinů opera for the first time.And given the brilliant delivery of the music,the high-quality cast and impressive sets,the work simply could not but make a goodimpression. ❚

spectators do get lost in a world in which theborders between reality, fantasy and dreammerge, and this time it was no different, asconfirmed by some of the visitors’ responsesafter the London performance.

Laudable was the performance of the orches -tra conducted by Edward Gardner, who wasable to present the music employing variousexpressive means, emotions and styles withlightness and as a coherent whole. Owing tothe outstanding musical exploration, built uponsuitably chosen tempos, elaborate dynamicsand colour scheme, the orchestra sensitivelyunderlined that which was happening on thestage, thereby affording the singers scopeto excel, yet in due course was also able tocaptivate the audience itself.

which ten years ago celebrated success in Parisand this February made its way to Geneva. InSeptember, when this production was stagedby English National Opera, Juliette reappearedat the London Coliseum after more than threedecades.

As customary with ENO, the work wasstaged in English, which, however, by no meansreduced its impact and comprehensibility. Afterall, the quality of David Pountney’s translationwas also witnessed by visitors to the NationalTheatre in Prague in 2000. What’s more, theemphasis ENO places on the linguistic aspectpositively manifests itself (and not only in thecase of Juliette) in the immaculate pronunci a -tion of all the singers.

Just as in the previous two productions,the spectacular yet simple and playful setsdesigned by Antony McDonald are dominatedby a giant piano accordion, with different partsof it coming forth in each Act: the stretchingbellows in Act 1 representing a town arereplaced in Act 2 by buttons symbolisinga forest, with the horizontally laid keyboarddominating the Central Bureau of Dreams inAct 3. The creation of surreal sets on the basisof the accordion’s transformations is highlyjustified. The instrument is assigned a specialsignificance in Martinů’s score: its plaintivesound would seem to offer solace to thosedeprived of their memories, thus the accordioncan actually be interpreted as a symbol of thearts. Naturally, in the new milieu the productionunderwent a number of minor changes, forinstance in the scene where in the Paris stag -ing, after Michel shoots at Juliette, the men“in blue and in grey” follow the protagonistwith blood on their hands. In London, however,they crossed the stage several times, graduallyturning into a crocodile, the animal to whichJuliette has shortly before mockingly likenedMichel.

The only weak point of Jones’s productioncan be considered the opening scene, in whichwe see Michel asleep. The audience is explicitlyshown that it’s all about a dream, thus beingdenied the pleasure of gradually seeking ontheir own the clue to the opera’s interpretation,which is not supposed to be the only one pos -sible. On the other hand, it is true that some


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This year we have celebrated significantanniversaries of two renowned Czech artistswhose paths intersected with that of Bohu -slav Martinů. In February the musical worldcommemorated the centenary of the birthof the pianist Rudolf Firkušný (1912–1994);in April a gala concert in memory of thecentenary of the birth of the cellist MilošSádlo (1912–2003) was held at the Academyof Performing Arts in Prague. The latteranniversary was, however, rather over -shadowed by the celebrations marking theanniversary of the birth of his two-month --older peer and good friend.

/ MAREK PECHAČ

IN THE MIDDLE of this year, Sádlo’s estatewas found to contain documents that afforda new insight into his friendship with BohuslavMartinů, as well as shed light on the genesisand performance history of several of Martinů’spieces. At the beginning of the summer, thecellist’s daughter, Mileva Müllerová, providedthe Bohuslav Martinů Institute with part of thecorrespondence between her father and thecomposer. The batch also included a letter writ -ten by Charlotte Martinů, several photo graphsand copy of the previously unknown blueprintof the third version of Concerto for Cello and

Orchestra No. 1, H. 196 III. In addition tothese sources, last year the Bohuslav MartinůInstitute staff discovered a blueprint copyof the autograph of Concerto for Cello and

Orchestra No. 2, H. 304 at the City of PragueSchool of Music – a copy con taining inscriptionswritten in Miloš Sádlo’s hand. The artist gavean account of his friend ship with BohuslavMartinů and his pieces for cello in an unpub -lished interview with Aleš Březina which tookplace in the second half of the 1990s withinthe preparations for the documentary “Returnfrom Exile”, directed by Jiří Nekvasil.

Born Miloslav Zátvrzský on 13 April 1912 inPrague, Miloš Sádlo later on adopted the nameof his teacher, Professor Karel Pravoslav Sádlo.In 1929 he started to gain recognition asa soloist, while also performing as a memberof the Prague (Zika) Quartet and the Czech Trio.

At the end of the 1950s, he was also a memberof the Suk Trio. In 1950 he started teachingat the Faculty of Music of the Academy of Per -form ing Arts in Prague, where three years laterhe was appointed Professor. He also taughtat universities in the USA. Sádlo educateda number of outstanding cellists, yet hecontinued to hone his own skills throughouthis life. And this unceasing craving for furtherknowledge took him to France in 1955.

In that year, Sádlo studied for six monthswith Pablo Casals in Prades. During his staythere, he was contacted by phone (most likelyat the end of August) by Rafael Kubelík, withwhom, following his emigration in 1948, Sádlohad maintained a friendly relationship – evenbringing his scores from Czechoslovakia to theWest. This time, Kubelík invited Sádlo to theinternational music festival in Besançon, theprogramme of which included the Europeanpremiere of Martinů’s Concerto for Two Pianos

and Orchestra, H. 292, performed by JanineReding and Henry Piette, accompanied by theOrchestre National de France conducted byKubelík. This was the very reason why Bohuslavand Charlotte Martinů were scheduled to attendthe festival too. Sádlo ran into the couple onthe train from Paris to Besançon: when return -ing from the dining car, he recognised amongthe passengers the famous composer, whosemusic he had been performing since the 1930s.Sádlo went straight over to Martinů and theyspent the rest of the journey together. Martinůasked Sádlo to address him by his first name,which the much younger cellist considereda great honour. On 3 September 1955, Sádloparticipated alongside Martinů in the rehearsalprior to the evening concert. He recalled thisoccasion during the interview with Aleš Březina:“He didn’t intervene at all, not in the slightest.He left it up to Rafael to see to it. I think thatin this respect he wasn’t demanding. He wassatisfied when he saw that the performer wastrying to understand him, that he strove toplunge into the composition.”

Miloš Sádlo also accompanied the Martinůson the journey back to Paris. The two menwould get together in the French capital onseveral more occasions; at the end of Sep tem -ber, Martinů sent the cellist a postcard with


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ch I WAS HONOURED THAT MARTINŮ CONSIDERED ME HIS FRIEND

MILOŠ SÁDLOAND BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ

*(Å(»

Charlotte Martinů, Bohuslav Martinů, Ludmila Bertl --Kubelíková and Miloš Sádlo. France, Besançon, 1955

photo: max kellerhals, © cbm polička

Postcard with invitation to meet Šafránek,September 1955

Orchestra on 25 May 1965 in České Budějovice,after it had been printed by Associated MusicPublishers. Sádlo, however, had aspired to de -liver the premiere much earlier, as docu mentedby his letters from September 1956 and Febru -ary 1957, in which he tried to persuade Martinůto modify the piece and send it to him, since thePrague Spring festival organisers had alreadypreliminarily included it in the program me of the1957 edition. He again reminded Martinů of hispledge to revise the concerto in a letter dated1 January 1958, after he had negotiated that

an invitation to meet him and Miloš Šafránek.Besides discussing music, their conversationsoften focused on that which was happeningin Czechoslovakia, with the homesick Martinůasking about the situation there, as well astheir mutual friends. During one of these visits,Martinů showed Sádlo the recently completedscore of the third (and only “valid”) version ofConcerto No. 1 for Cello and Orchestra, H. 196

III, and, as the cellist recalled, also suggestedthat he undertake the work’s premiere.(The piece was, however, first performed byPierre Fournier, on 5 December 1955 with theLausanne Chamber Orchestra under VictorDesarzens.) Miloš Sádlo first played the thirdversion of the cello concerto on 6 March 1956in Helsinki, accompanied by the Finnish RadioSymphony Orchestra with Paavo Berglundconducting. He gave Martinů an account of thisperformance in a letter dated 10 September1956: “As I have written to you, in March I playedyour concerto, the new version, in Helsinki.Unfortunately, the concert was given no publicitysince there was a nationwide general strike!I think that the audience liked the concertothough, albeit performing your piece was rathera tough nut to crack for an orchestra who are notused to similar rhythmic problems. As you know,their national bard Sibelius doesn’t present suchproblems to them.” Miloš Sádlo would subse -quently perform Martinů’s first cello concertomany more times, one of the noteworthyperform ances being that with the PragueSymphony Orchestra, conducted be VáclavSmetáček, in March 1957. He said he adoredit and was convinced that it was “the mostinspired modern cello concerto”, lauding in partic -ular the second movement, whose emotionalcharge he did not hesitate to compare withthat of Dvořák’s Concerto in B minor.

Miloš Sádlo was also keenly interested inConcerto No. 2 for Cello and Orchestra, H. 304,which Martinů allegedly even intended to dedi -cate to him. Yet after completing it in February1945 in New York, the composer put the scoreaside and left it in the USA before returning toEurope. What’s more, Martinů wanted to re -write the entire concerto, but unfortunately henever got around to it. The piece was premieredby Saša Večtomov and the Prague Symphony


the work might be premiered in Paris. By thetime he finally got to perform the concerto,Sádlo had attempted to modify it himself: heabove all made a number of cuts in the first twomovements, as evi denced by his blueprint copyof the autograph, discovered last year.

Besides the two cello concertos, Miloš Sádloperformed numerous other Martinů compo si -tions. The music of “the genius of Czech music”,as he himself branded Martinů later on, wasintroduced to him by their mutual friend KarelŠebánek, who back before World War II hadprovided Sádlo with Martinů’s first minor pieces,including, for example, the Pastorales, H. 190.The Czech Trio, of which he was a mem bertogether with the violinist Alexandr Plocek andthe pianist Josef Páleníček, frequently includedin their programme Martinů’s Piano Trio No. 1

(Cinq pièces brèves), H. 193. Sádlo’s repertoirealso contained all three sonatas for cello andpiano, the Variations on a Theme by Rossini,

H. 290, and Variations on a Slovak Folksong,

H. 378, which he and Páleníček played on27 August 1979 at the ceremony accompa nyingthe interment of Bohuslav Martinů’s remainsin the family tomb in Polička. In the interviewwith Aleš Březina, he gave a succinct personalevalua tion of the sonatas: “The best of the threesonatas, also when it comes to con ception andpotency, is undoubtedly the second. It is simplyperfect in formal terms. The first sonata isimmensely dramatic yet, unfortunately, the timbralpossibilities and the combination of the twoinstruments are not overly well balanced. Thethird sonata is the simplest and also the mostCzech.” Sádlo also recalled the period followingthe 1948 Communist coup d’état in Czecho -slovakia, when, until approximately the middleof the 1950s, it was extremely difficult, manya time impossible even, to get Martinů’s musicper formed on concert stages in the composer’shomeland: “I could perform it when playingtogether with the piano, no one could prevent mefrom doing so. But when it came to the orchestra,there was always the question of approval, andeveryone steered clear of it, more out of cowardicethan by reason of having a different opinion.”

A significant imprint in Miloš Sádlo’s life wasleft not only by the music but also, and toa great extent, the personality of the Poličkanative. A few decades later, the cellist warmlyrecalled his brief friendship with BohuslavMartinů: “There isn’t another Martinů out there.He was an immensely tender, intelligent andhumble person. I could talk with him openly andhumanly… I adored him. And I was happy thathe considered me his friend.” ❚

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AND MARTINŮ

Two pages of the blueprint of Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2, H. 304

Series—Special—LISTOF MARTINŮ’S WORKSXI

> LIST OF MARTINŮ’S WORKS XI > Category VOCAL MUSIC> Subcategory CHOIR A CAPPELLA / CHOIR WITH INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT

CATEGORY/

| VOCAL MUSIC SUBCATEGORY/

| CHOIR A CAPPELLA| CHOIR WITH INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT

✂

ON THIS PAGE of the Revue we continuewith our publishing of the complete listof Bohuslav Martinů’s works. In this issue we will start the Vocal musiccategory and the subcategory Choira cappella and Choir with instruments (listedin alphabetical order). The basic data onthe works listed here have been taken fromthe online catalogue of Martinů’s œuvreat http://database.martinu.cz

Commentary/“Archive” – gives the information as towhere the autograph score is deposited.Premiere: Day / Month / Year Only accessible information is stated.If data on the publisher are missing, thework has yet to be published and isavailable as material that can be lent. S SopranoA AltoT TenorB Basspf pianotr trumpetvl violin

CHOIR A CAPPELLA

BRIGAND SONGS I, II (ZBOJNICKÉ PÍSNĚ I, II) H. 361

Durata: 26’35”Place of composition: RomeDate of composition: 1957Performing forces: men’s choir (TTBB)Dedication: Cycle I: Pěvecké sdružení

pražských učitelů (The Choral Societyof Prague Teachers) / Cycle II: Pěveckésdružení moravských učitelů (The ChoralSociety of Moravian Teachers)

Performers of premiere: Pěvecké sdruženípražských učitelů (I) Pěvecké sdruženímoravských učitelů (II)

Premiere: Prague, 11.4.1957 (I); Brno, 19.10.1957 (II)

Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Centerin Polička

Publisher: Státní hudební vydavatelství (SHV),Prague 1959 (H. 2880).

Copyright: Editio Bärenreiter, Prague

CZECH MADRIGALS (ČESKÉ MADRIGALY)FOR MIXED VOICES H. 278

Durata: 18’05”Place of composition: Vieux-MoulinDate of composition: 1939Performing forces: SSATB (1, 2, 6), SSA (3, 5),

SSATTB (4, 8), SAT (7)Dedication: Pražští madrigalisté (Prague

Madrigalists), Miroslav Venhoda (cond.)Performers of premiere: Pražští madrigalisté,

Miroslav Venhoda (cond.)

LITTLE SONGS FOR CHILDREN’S CHOIR (PÍSNIČKY PRO DĚTSKÝ SBOR) H. 373

Durata: 5’Place of composition: Schönenberg-Pratteln

(Switzerland)Date of composition: 1959Performing forces: children’s choir (SSA)Dedication: Dětský sbor Domu pionýrů

a mládeže v Brně (Brno Youth Choir) Performers of premiere: Dětský sbor Domu

pionýrů a mládeže v BrněPremiere: Brno, 17.4.1960Archive: Brno, private propertyPublisher: Panton, Prague 1977 (P 1710)Copyright: Schott Music Panton

MADRIGALS (PART-SONG BOOK) H. 380

Durata: 9’30”Place of composition: Schönenberg-Pratteln,

(Switzerland)Date of composition: 1959Performing forces: mixed choir (SSATB, No. 3:

SATB)Dedication: Maruška Pražanová Performers of premiere: Pražští madrigalisté

(Prague Madrigalists), Miroslav Venhoda(cond.)

Premiere: Prague, 15.6.1959Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center

in PoličkaPublisher: Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 1960,

1988 (B. A. 3755-3758)Copyright: Bärenreiter, Kassel

THREE PART-SONGS (TROJHLASÉ PÍSNĚ) H. 338

Durata: 9’Place of composition: New YorkDate of composition: 1952Performing forces: female choir (SSSSAA)Performers of premiere: Female choir OPUS,

Zdeněk Zouhar (cond.)Premiere: Brno, 8.4.1956Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center

in PoličkaPublisher: Boosey & Hawkes, London -

-NewYork 1953 (B & H 17153-55)Copyright: Boosey & Hawkes, London -

-NewYork

TWO MALE CHORUSES H. 121

Place of composition: PragueDate of composition: 1919Performing forces: male choirPerformers of premiere: Jihočeské pěvecké

sdružení (South Bohemian Choral Society),Josef Masopust (cond.)

Premiere: Prague, 2. 3.1919Archive: autograph is missingCopyright: Schott Music PantonThe existence of this work has not been verified.

Premiere: Prague, 14. 9.1965Archive: Schott, MainzPublisher: Schott, Mainz 1968.Copyright: Schott Music, Mainz

CZECH NURSERY RHYMES (ČESKÁ ŘÍKADLA) H. 209

Durata: 17’Place of composition: ParisDate of composition: 1931Performing forces: female choirDedication: Pěvecké sdružení pražských

učitelek (The Choral Society of PragueTeachers)

Performers of premiere: Pěvecké sdruženípražských učitelek, Metod Vymetal (cond.)

Premiere: Prague, 4.4.1933Archive: autograph is missingPublisher: Panton, Prague 1977, 1984 (P 1684)Copyright: Schott Music Panton

FIVE CZECH MADRIGALS (PĚT ČESKÝCH MADRIGALŮ) H. 321

Durata: 6’Place of composition: New YorkDate of composition: 1948Performing forces: mixed choir (SATB)Performers of premiere: Schola cantorum New

York, Hugh Ross (cond.)Premiere: New York, 13.3.1950Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center



-NewYork

FOUR MARIAN SONGS (ČTYŘI PÍSNĚ O MARII) H. 235

Durata: 11’Place of composition: ParisDate of composition: 1934Performing forces: mixed choir (SATB)Dedication: Vinohradský Hlahol ChoirPerformers of premiere: Vinohradský Hlahol

ChoirPremiere: Prague, 12.4.1935Archive: Brno, private propertyPublisher: Tempo, Prague 1993 (T 008)Copyright: Boosey & Hawkes, London -

-NewYork

A GREETING (ZDRAVICE) H. 384

Place of composition: Schönenberg-PrattelnDate of composition: 1959Performing forces: children’s choir Dedication: to the pupils of the Bohuslav

Martinů Music School in PoličkaArchive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center

in PoličkaCopyright: Bärenreiter, Kassel


CHOIR WITH INSTRUMENTALACCOMPANIMENT

THE BIRD FEAST (PTAČÍ HODY) H. 379

Durata: 2’30”Place of composition: Schönenberg-PrattelnDate of composition: 1959Performing forces: children’s choir (SSAA), trDedication: Brněnský dětský sbor (Brno

Children’s Choir)Performers of premiere: Brněnský dětský sbor,

František Lýsek (cond.), J. Šlabák (tr)Premiere: Brno, 12.4.1960Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center

in PoličkaPublisher: In: Písničky pro dětský sbor, Panton,

Prag 1977 (P 1710)Copyright: Schott Music Panton

PRIMROSE (PETRKLÍČ) H. 348

Durata: 7’Place of composition: NiceDate of composition: 1954Performing forces: S A vl pfDedication: Jan Novák (1), Zdeněk Zouhar (2),

Anna Wurmová (3), female choir OPUS,Brno, cond. Zdeněk Zouhar (4, 5)

Performers of premiere: female choir OPUS,Zdeněk Zouhar (cond.)

Premiere: Brno, 25.4.1955Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center

in PoličkaPublisher: Panton, Prague 1960 (P.004)Copyright: Schott Music Panton

THREE SACRED SONGS (THREELEGENDS) (TŘI PÍSNĚ POSVÁTNÉ – TŘI LEGENDY) H. 339

Durata: 11’Place of composition: New YorkDate of composition: 1952Performing forces: female choir (SSSAA), vlPerformers of premiere: Female choir OPUS,

Zdeněk Zouhar (cond.)Premiere: Polička, 7.1.1956Archive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center



-NewYork

VIRGIN MARY WALKED AROUNDTHE WORLD (PANENKA MARIAPO SVĚTĚ CHODILA) H. 339 A

Durata: 2’15”Place of composition: New YorkDate of composition: 1952Performing forces: female choir (SSA), vlArchive: The Bohuslav Martinů Center

in PoličkaCopyright: Bärenreiter, Kassel

When getting to know an unfamiliar reper toire,these musicians have the advantage of beingtrained in rapid absorption of new compositionsand new musical impulses. It is a specific ensem -ble; after all, it was formed as an orchestra pre -de termined to perform new works, not justBritish but international too. From the verybeginning, the orchestra’s players are trained tobe able to adapt to new music extremely quickly.And this quality is underlined by the fact that theorchestra doesn’t repeat anything. One of itsgreat features is its ability to prepare newprogrammes rapidly.

} But isn’t that a disadvantage too? Yes, it is, when it comes to the formation of

the style of playing and the creation of an inter -pretative opinion. The proverb “repetition is themother of wisdom” says it all: repeating thingsstabilises performing skills and you work yourselfthrough to a greater depth, better understandthe scores… The BBC Symphony Orchestra mem -bers like going on tour precisely owing to the factthat they generally repeat the repertoire invarious cities – and for them this has alwaysbeen a pleasure and a verification of their abilityto get to the core and capture the quintessence

} Your London era began with a perfor -mance of The Epic of Gilgamesh?

Yes, indeed. Martinů ushered in my relation -ship with the orchestra. Gilgamesh was one ofthe very first pieces and it sparked interest.The other repertoire centre of gravity wasJosef Suk’s works – we started with the StringSerenade and the Fairy Tale and graduallyproceeded to the large scores, beginning withAsrael, which Chandos scheduled among itsrecording projects. Then we did Ripening, theSymphony in E major and, most recently,A Summer’s Tale and Praga. Suk was totallynew to them. Otherwise, we performed thestandard Czech repertoire: Smetana, Dvořák,Janáček, but we also played Foerster and Novák,Petr Eben, Luboš Fišer, Erwin Schulhoff, MiloslavKabeláč, Viktor Kalabis… The total volumeof Czech music which we encompassed isimmense. Yet, of course, we performed theinternational repertoire too.

} Martinů’s and Suk’s music is not overlyplayed by orchestras worldwide. Did youhave to wade through them painstakingly?How did the orchestra members receiveso specific a type of music?

/ PETR VEBER / LUBOŠ STEHLÍK

With the inaugural concert at the DvořákHall of the Rudolfinum in Prague on4 October 2012, Jiří Bělohlávek publiclyassumed the post of musical director andchief conductor of the Czech PhilharmonicOrchestra. He took up the position followinga six-year tenure with the BBC SymphonyOrchestra in London, resuming were he hadleft off two decades previously.

} You have created a distinctive chapter inthe history of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.What did the period bring to you personallyand what imprint have you left on them?

The first period was five years in the post ofpermanent guest conductor, the next five yearswere without an official title yet with regular,albeit not so intensive, contact, and that ledinto the six years as musical director. Each partof my tenure seamlessly passed into the next.Perhaps the common denominator was theattention paid to the Czech repertoire and mysustained endeavour not only to perform Czechmusic but also to familiarise the orchestra withthe pieces beyond the well-known repertoireand teach them how to love them. And inthis, I think, I have succeeded very well, asevidenced by, for instance, the recordings wemade over the years.

} Which of them in particular would youhighlight?

When it comes to the most recent period, therecording of the complete Martinů symphonies,which was made at concerts throughout theseason. I included one of them in each pro -gramme. The gradual entering into the spiritof Martinů’s music resulted in a label showinginterest in releasing the symphonies as a set.The CD was nominated for the prestigiousGramophone Awards this year. I would also liketo mention Suk’s Ripening and A Summer’s Taleand, of course, two opera titles – Smetana’sThe Bartered Bride and Janáček’s The Excur -sions of Mr. Brouček.

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of compositions. The orchestra’s huge virtue isthat they do not feel reluctant to do anything.They have to produce a new programme everyfour days – and this require ment presumes theexistence of a certain type of inquisitivenessand curiosity, which really is there. The musi -cians sometimes complain that they areconstantly in the process of getting to knowsomething new and having to implement itstraight away, yet at the same time they arewell aware that this is precisely what makesthem special, and they nurture it.

} The Czechs often think that only they canplay Dvořák, Suk, Janáček… What is thedifference between the approach of Londonand Czech orchestras to this music?

London orchestras are not burdened by anyweight of tradition in this respect – neitherin the good nor, and primarily, the bad sense.The BBC Symphony Orchestra does not havea tradition that would reassure the musiciansthat the manner in which they performed

a piece most recently is the one and only possi -ble. They are aware that every attempt atgrasping a work starts from point zero. Theyare outstanding players and commit themselvesfully to the conductor’s will. If I ever hada certain problem with creating with them, forinstance, a Janáček idiom or a true Martinůrhythmic pulsation and the natural flow ofindividual compositional elements from whichMartinů always builds up his pieces, all I had todo was to tell them what to do and explain how– and they accepted it automatically and wereable not only to imitate the pattern but also todevelop it in a creative way. And by means ofrepeated touches, this gradually strengthened,especially in the case of Martinů’s music. Weperformed not only his symphonies but also the


TIONIST STARTING POINT

/ MARK TODD

THE VIOLIST Maxim Rysanov, a native of Ukraineand now based in London, is a previous BBC YoungGeneration Artist and winner at the Geneva Inter -national Music Competition. He played to what wasprobably his largest audience last year when heappeared at The Last Night of the Proms with theBBC Symphony Orchestra and Jiří Bělohlávek in anarrangement for viola of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Vari -ations. Martinů’s music for viola has been an inter -est of his for some time and in previous seasons hehas performed the Madrigals for Violin and Viola,H. 313 with violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and theRhap sody-Concerto for Viola, H. 337 with variousorchestras, including again the BBC SymphonyOrchestra and Jiří Bělohlávek. A CD issue withMaxim Rysanov is planned, which is to includea number of the Martinů viola works. Rysanov hadplayed the viola sonata some years ago, but whenhe scheduled it last year he found that he neededmore time to re-enter the atmosphere of the workand postponed his public performances until thisseason.

On Friday October 12 the audience at his recitalat the Little Missenden Festival in Little Missendenchurch with the British pianist Ashley Wass – alsoa former BBC Young Generation Artist – was lucky

enough to hear one of these performances. Thefestival is run entirely by volunteers, and the chair man, Alan Hedges, had provided an excellentintro duction to the Viola Sonata, H. 355 in the pro gramme notes. The notes alluded to the rangeof types of expression in the work – ‘nostalgic’,‘muscular and powerful, intense and deeplypassionate, displaying the power and range of theviola brilliantly, from the gritty darkness of thelower strings to the lyrical qualities of the higherregisters.’ The final move ment was characterisedas ‘abrasive and rhythmically complex agitation’ –this was what a British critic fifty years ago hadreferred to as ‘scrubbing-brush music’.

There was no doubt of Maxim Rysanov’s masteryof and response to all these aspects, as well as AshleyWass’s affinity with the ‘rhythmic and often percus -

RECITAL BY MAXIM RYSANOV & ASHLEY WASS

Ashley Wass Maxim Rysanov

sive’ piano writing. Both are confident and boldplayers, Maxim Rysanov with a full and rich tone,projecting the lyrical aspects of the work with warmvigour, and Ashley Wass delighting in both the fullchords and the running interplay with the viola.

The Martinů Sonata was the opening item inthe recital, and together with the piece ‘Incantatio’by the contemporary Swiss composer RichardDubugnon (its title echoing a title used by Martinůfor a Piano Concerto) it was the most substantialitem in the programme actually written for viola.There was also a short ‘Whispered Lullaby’ by thecontemporary Bulgarian-born composer DobrinkaTabakova, which, like the Dubugnon, was com -posed with Maxim Rysanov in mind. The remainderof the concert included viola and piano arrange -ments of Bach’s third Cello Suite and a selectionof pieces originally for piano or cello and piano byDebussy, Ravel and Fauré.

Little Missenden church was packed, with chairsseemingly added in every available space compat -ible with health and safety regulations – I wasseated within a few inches of the violist so receivedthe full impact of his strong presentation. In Sep -tem ber Maxim Rysanov presented the work toan audience in Hong Kong, and during the seasonis scheduled to give further performances inManchester, Leicester, Belfast and Moscow. ❚

JIŘÍ BĚLOHLÁVEK | 1946 born in Prague, where he studied at the Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts |1970 winner of the national competition of young conductors, becomes an assistant conductor of the Czech PhilharmonicOrchestra | 1971 finalist of the Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition | 1972 conductor of theState Philharmonic Orchestra Brno, until 1978 | 1977 chief conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, until 1989 |1981 conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, until 1990 | 1990 chief conductor of the Czech PhilharmonicOrchestra, until 1992 | 1994 establishes the Prague Philharmonia, chief conductor until 2005, today its Honorary MusicDirector | 1995 principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, until 2000 | 1997 named Professor of theAcademy of Performing Arts in Prague, his pupils included Jakub Hrůša, Tomáš Hanus, Tomáš Netopil and Zbyněk Müller |2004 debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York | 2006 chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London,until 2012 | 2006 named President of the Prague Spring international music festival | 2007 the first conductor ofthe Last Night of the Proms whose mother tongue is not English | 2007 he and the Berliner Philharmoniker performSmetana’s My Country | 2012 named Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |2012 named chief conductor and music director of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, with a contract for four years |2013 principal guest conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

concertos, the Field Mass and other pieces. Theorchestra members approached them with anincreasing degree of experience and were ableto build upon the basis they had and continuein it. Today, it is already in their possession, theyknow how to approach Martinů’s language andhow to understand it. The oft-heard mechanicallabelling of the structure of his music as “fullof syncopations” is not accurate. As Martinůhimself explained, a certain motif may looklike a syncopated matter yet in fact there areirregular times that must be understood andcarried out. This is the very key to Martinů’smusical language and Martinů interpretation. ❚

Reprinted (and abbreviated) from the musical magazine Harmonie, No. 10, 2012, with their kind permission

(�REVIEW��

Liberec, České Budějovice and Opava. TheNational Theatre in Prague didn’t stage theopera until 1968, with the dancer AntonínLanda appearing in Act 1. In 2000 it waspresented by the Moravian-Silesian NationalTheatre in Ostrava in Igor Vejsada’s chore -ography.

Martinů had a clear notion of his stageworks. The Bohuslav Martinů Institutepossesses a copy of notes from the autographscore in which the composer gives detailedinstructions as to that which should take placeon stage and what the visual design should belike. In addition to a precise description of thetableaux, Martinů also specifies dance elements– for instance, he writes that Pierrot shouldmake three pirouettes – and although TheatreBehind the Gate is inspired by a comedy typebased on mimic action, in his notes Martinů onlyonce mentions mime as a manner of perform -ance, otherwise writing dances of the soloistsand corps.

Radim Vizváry, the director of the new pro -duction, conceives Theatre Behind the Gate inthe way Martinů himself intended, leaving it upto the creators to address “the audience of theirtime”. In his staging, Vizváry employs mimeelements, placing emphasis on face-play, as wellas paying attention to the overall physicalexpres sion. He accommodates to the produc -

Leo Štraus. The composer extended the com -media dell’arte stock characters with otherfigures: Katushka, the Bellman, the Mayor andthe Old Woman-Charmer: “The first Act in sixscenes is a musical setting of burlesque tableauxdrawing upon J. G. Debureau’s mime works.Columbine and Harlequin are introduced, Pierrotis jealous, he asks the innkeeper to help him toseparate the couple and tell Columbine to comehome. In the following scene, Pierrot shaves offthe innkeeper’s moustache, thus becoming thesource of his physical suffering, then the con -fectioner enters the action and other scenesunfold in which the innkeeper brings a rifle fromhome and the clumsy Pierrot shoots Harlequindead with it. The tumult is calmed by the deadHarlequin himself, who all of a sudden stands up,before he and Columbine kneel down in front ofthe innkeeper, who blesses them. The charactersthen run through another two Acts in song.Theatre Behind the Gate is nothing but a scene atthe market-place, a fair outside the town, actuallya peripatetic theatre show.” (Divadelní list, Brno,Issue 3, 1936, Bohuslav Martinů’s text for theproduction.)

Theatre Behind the Gate was premiered inBrno on 20 September 1936. The sets andcostumes were designed by František Muzikaand the choreography created by Ivo VáňaPsota. It was subsequently staged in Olomouc,

/ LUCIE DERCSÉNYIOVÁ

OPERAS AND BALLETS by Bohuslav Martinůare rarely seen on our stages. In their time,they were deemed experimental, yet as thedecades have progressed creators have“at hand” a number of time-proven artistictechniques from which to draw inspirationor innovate. Martinů’s music is captivating,challenging to perform and listen to, but itprovides staging teams with ample scope toapply not only modern theatre technology butalso dance in its diverse contemporary forms.

Martinů composed fourteen ballets. Heperceived dance as a part of his works for stageand dance also plays a significant role in someof his operas. He had the courage to combineunusual musical genres. And, as is the case ofa number of his other works, Theatre Behind

the Gate, H. 251, defined both as an operabuffa and a ballet mime, blends several genrestoo. In the score, completed on 30 April 1936,Martinů referred to it as a Commedia dell’arte inThree Acts. The first Act is a ballet mime madeup of six scenes after Jean Gaspar Debureau,Acts two and three are given over to operabuffa.

Martinů chose as the theme commediadell’arte, which he interconnected with Czechfolk poetry, working with texts by FrantišekBartoš, František Sušil and Karel JaromírErben. Although this juxtaposition may seemincon gruous, Martinů succeeded in creatingjoyful music perfect to move to, music alsoimbued with a dramatic charge. The composerhad plenty of ideas, as well as doubts, as hecon fided to Jindřich Honzl: “…I have found quitedetailed scripts of Debureau’s mimes, which comein very handy… they are lovely and irresistiblyfunny. Yet I would not do it as a directive pan -tomime, since there simply aren’t enough actors,but as a ballet with mime and singing. I wouldlike it to be this way – can you give me adviceas to whether it is an anachronism – mime andcommedia dell’arte and folk song.” (Letter dated14 May 1935, Paris.) Martinů also sought some -one to help him with the text; first he discussedthe matter with Vítězslav Nezval, yet ultimatelythe dialogues were edited by the Czech singer

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A PROVOCATIVELY POETIC

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tion’s set design, its simple demarcation of thespace, in which strips of white fabric hang downand the performers walk behind them or appearfrom behind. The austere sets make it possibleto highlight the extravagant costumes, makinguse of a wide scheme of colours and punkstylisation of the mime artists. Now and then,Columbine looks like a gutsy coquette – a domi -natrix toying with her admirers Harlequin andPierrot. The Mayor is portrayed with hyperbole,

with Irina Andreeva’s looks alone sketchingin the figure’s piquant grotesqueness.

Theatre Behind the Gate transcends tradi -tional themes: it is a succession of tableauxthat can exist independently from each otherand hence it isn’t easy to translate the workinto a dramatically consistent form. It’s asthough it resists this owing to its “fragmen ta -tion”. In his new production of Theatre Behindthe Gate, Vizváry succeeds in creating anorganically coherent dramatic whole, greatlyaided in this respect by the dramaturgic andmusical modifications. The creative teamfocused on conceiving a synthetic theatre pieceand consequently condensed two Acts into one.The conductor Valentina Shuklina arranged thenumber and configuration of wind instruments.Singers from the Faculty of Music of theAcademy of Performing Arts, members of theN.O.S. Untraditional Opera Studio, the QuattraChamber Orchestra, the Bubureza choir andmime and dance students all appear in theperformance.

The cuts did the production good. As a resultof being shortened and owing to a consistentblending of song and dance, it acquires thedesired synthesis of form, whereby the soloistssing their arias accompanied by their dancingdoubles. When it comes to the choreography,Vizváry applies the principle of mime-mimicry,

with the performers’ expressions being accom -panied by an equally distinctive pose or gesture.He also employs acrobatic elements and putseverything functionally into moving pictures,when at a few junctures the singers transcendtraditional operatic acting and pay moreattention to the physical performance of theircharacters. Rendering Martinů’s score, whichare complicated in terms of dance, is not easy,yet I personally am of the opinion that it callsfor a choreographic excitement even moreintense than that in the new production. In theprogramme, Vizváry is credited with the mimeconcept and choreography, and in his adapta -tion he duly brought to bear his own uniquepenmanship. He observes the dramatic trajec -tory of individual scenes and works with mimedrawn from harlequinade which he idiomaticallydevelops in vivid gesture. His characters aresad, comical and moving at the same time. Theirterse, uncompromising display shifts the workinto the present, providing more impulses forand manners of expression that could lead tomore richly structured movement – dance.Naturally, Vizváry works with that which isclose to him – mime – and enriches it with hispeculiar creative point of view and provocativepoetics. ❚

Reprinted from www.tanecniaktuality.cz


THEATRE BEHIND THE GATEMusic, libretto: Bohuslav MartinůDialogue: Leo ŠtrausArrangements: Valentina Shuklina, Radim VizváryStage director: Radim VizváryMime concept, choreography: Radim Vizváryand his creative teamConductor, music exploration: Valentina ShuklinaSet design: Jozef Hugo ČačkoLight design: Jiří PodubskýMovement supervision: Eva Bezzemková,Andrej MišejkaProject of the Faculty of Music and Danceof the Academy of Performing ArtsPremiere: 26 June 2012, National TheatreNew Stage, Prague

THEATRE BEHIND THE GATE

singers backed out about fourteen days priorto the premiere.

} How did you resolve the situation?Fortunately, opera singers always double up

in a role, so the other one appeared in all the per -formances. But we already have a new, secondHarlequin, who has been debuting in Polička.

} Did you have any creative crises duringthe preparations?

Yes, creation isn’t merely fun, it involves suf -fer ing too. I experienced two alternating statesof mind: when I was at my wits’ end, I cursedMartinů for what he had thought up, why hehadn’t taken more time to trim it properly, whyhe just put the folk songs in it without conse -quence, why he stole some components and putthem next to each other without any context,etc. Now and then, I found him really insane,I even came to the conclusion that he must havedone it under the influence, there simply wasn’tany other plausible explanation… And while inthe other state of mind I adored the guy!

} Martinů could simply be somewhat mischie -vous at times, and in the case of Theatre Be -hind the Gate he must have truly savoured it:Let’s shake up the social themes in opera, we’llget a right ticking off but it doesn’t matter…

And the mischievousness and provocationis what I like about him.

} What other difficulties did you have to con -tend with when it came to the prepa ra tion ofthe music and the adaptation of the libretto?

mime, dance and music. Moreover, I am inter -ested in seeking the answer to the questionof what actually is “folk” at the present time.The theme of my thesis is the French influenceon Czech mime art. My specialisation is drama -turgy in mime, and putting on Theatre Behindthe Gate was a great challenge for me since inthis respect it is very demanding to implement.

} Yes, that was the first thing that crossedmy mind when I saw its premiere at the NewStage of the National Theatre in Prague inJune – it places great requirements on theperformers. I had the impression that in yourproduction everyone has to be skilled in every -thing: acting, movement, dance, singing…

You’re right, it was also demanding for theactors and singers. Since it is synthetic theatre,or, if you will, a fusion of genres, we had to learnmany new skills so as to meet the creator’srequirements. Everyone got down to it withgreat enthusiasm and diligence, as if they wereaware that they were working on somethingexceptional and at the same time had realisedthat they could learn something new. I espe -cially appreciated the approach and resolve ofthe opera singers, since they took movementtechnique lessons from me, attended rehearsalsin gym gear and had aching muscles. Ultimately,they had transcended the boundaries of tradi -tional opera acting and were really happy tohave done so.

} The result of their efforts is evident. It’salways a real joy when you manage to gettogether a team of enthusiasts who aren’tafraid to learn something new.

At the same time, Martinů commands respect,and some simply can’t handle it. One of the

/ LUCIE JIRGLOVÁ

} How did the idea of holding a mimefestival in Polička arise?

We were inspired by Bohuslav Martinů, sincehe is one of the first to have discovered thesource that would later expand into a currentof modern Czech mime art. Our audiences pri -marily know its stage form from Ladislav Fialka.

} The festival culminated in your pro duc tionof the opera Theatre Behind the Gate.The connection between Martinů and mimemay be surprising for some of our readers…

Martinů had a keen interest in mime. He wasinspired by Deburau’s librettos and applied hisnotion of combining opera and mime in TheatreBehind the Gate.

} You have focused on the theme of therelation between Martinů and mime in yourthesis too. Why did you choose this workin particular?

I chose the Theatre Behind the Gate as mypractical doctoral thesis since I would like touse it to assess my theoretical research, workand experience in art. I picked the project fortwo reasons. The first is that I come fromPolička and have a positive relation to Martinů;the second is that I am intrigued by the work’smulti-genre nature and the music’s actualtexture. From this viewpoint, the legacy ofBohuslav Martinů, who was interested in Frenchmime and, as a patriot, injected folk elementsinto his music, is extremely attractive for me.And the work Theatre Behind the Gate, whichhas seldom been staged, opens up the possi -bility of creatively integrating these elements,as well as the several genres of comic opera,

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...WITH RADIM VIZVÁRYIn the second half of September 2012, Polička hosted the first edition of the internationalMime Fest. It was an extraordinary event, seeing that it is the one and only festival ofits kind in the Czech Republic. Its highlight was a performance of Bohuslav Martinů’s operaTheatre Behind the Gate, H. 251, which was premiered on 26 June 2012 at the NationalTheatre New Stage in Prague. The festival’s dramaturge is the Polička native Radim Vizváry,one of the finest young Czech mime artists, who currently teaches at the Mime Departmentof the Faculty of Music of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and at the DIE ETAGEschool of arts in Berlin.

The original first Act is made up of balletmime, while the second and third are givenover to opera buffa.

It is a succession of several scenes thatcan exist independently of each other, henceit isn’t easy to shape the work into a dramati -cally con sistent form. I primarily drew on theoriginal plays, which inspired Bohuslav Martinůtoo. They include, for instance, the librettosof Pierrot the Baker and Pierrot the Barber.Yet I didn’t use all the Deburau models. I alsohad to reach for something else, even foundinspi ration in the Marcel Carné film Les Enfantsdu Paradis. I used all these scenes to createa simple story and after I had consultedthe conductor we put together a consistentwhole.

} What was it like working with sucha tradi tional subject matter? After all,commedia dell'arte characters are of thestock variety and it can’t be easy to treatthem in a modern manner, to avoid variousclichés, etc. How did you approach it?

The commedia dell’arte types are, in myopinion, the mirror of today’s society. I soughtspecific types that would address a contem -porary audience while, at the same time, notlosing their traditional nature. This explorationwas really interesting and I thoroughly enjoyedit. I observed every person around me and dulyidentified him or her. Subsequently, I assessedthe basic features of all the characters, and the

result was the current comedic type. I thinkMartinů would have done it this way too…

} There’s no doubt about it, Martinů wasan outstanding observer! Were you alsoinspired in your endeavour by co-operationwith the set designer, or did you approachhim with a clear notion of what the setsand costumes should look like?

The designer and I influenced each otherto a great extent. We got together quite fre -quently and brought each other materials,books, videos, etc. I did have a certain con cep -tion and he strove to realise it, yet at the sametime I afforded him scope for his own invention.

} The production is very imaginative invisual terms and at first glance it captivatesowing to its modern conception. To whatextent did you adhere to the instructionsgiven by Martinů himself, who, for instance,pre scribed half-masks for the mime artists(yet this instruction was perhaps onlycomplied with by František Muzika in theoriginal 1936 staging)?

We above all drew upon folklore andultimately found a solution of how to blend folkphraseology and commedia dell’arte elements.The designer Jozef Hugo Čačko was not onlyinspired by Czech but also, and primarily, Slovakfolklore, since it provided a more abundantmaterial. The masks are painted on, you mayrecall a Harlequin with a red strip across his

eyes. But the most important for us was toreach out to the present so as to be able toaddress young people.

} And in that, in my opinion, you havesucceeded: the sets appear really modern.I was also intrigued by the doubling of vocaland dance roles – was that your idea?

Yes, I wanted to create an integrated work,knock together three Acts that do not commu -nicate with each other. And I considered thisdoubling an ideal solution that made it possibleto create a dramatic character in a dramaticsituation.

} Have you then used material fromall three Acts?

I drew on all three of them. Basically, webegan with the second Act (opera), continuedwith the first (mime), and concluded with thethird. They are only modified a little bit. Martinůinitially asked Vítězslav Nezval to help him withthe libretto, yet ultimately, in haste, createdeverything on his own. Therefore, so as to imbuethe music with better gradation and tempo,the conductor and I had to make a few cuts.

} Martinů insisted that Nezval make it reallyfunny. What has this intensive work of yoursrevealed about the composer’s personalityand sense of humour?

When you live with a work for half a year, youreally get to plumb its depths and understandthe creator more profoundly. Then you don’treflect upon his artistic qualities but wonderwhat kind of person he was. I asked myself thequestions: Why does he pay attention to thisin particular? What does he want to say? Ulti -mately, I created my own Martinů story con -nected with this work. I even, as it were, iden ti -fied myself with him, since his personality isenthralling and somewhat close to me. I have inmind the human behaviour and worldview. I thinkMartinů had a great sense of humour and he alsodrew upon his personal experience and adven -tures. If he was tortured by some thing, he wasable to transform it into a comical situation.This, after all, is characteristic of us Czechs.

} To conclude, we would like to quotea short extract from the opera’s prologue:“Leave the worries that oppress you at thetheatre door – you will find them there again,they will be waiting for you, yet in the mean -time we are here to make you laugh… Anddon’t say that you are too busy; you are neverso busy as to not find a moment to laugh.” ❚


WE’RE NEVER SO BUSY/ AS TO NOT FIND A MOMENT TO LAUGH

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/ LUCIE HARASIM BERNÁ

} At the present time, you are recordingAntonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto; in January2013 you are scheduled to record some ofMartinů’s chamber music. Which pieces inparticular will your Martinů album feature?

I shall be recording Martinů's three cellosonatas for the second time (along with OlliMustonen's cello sonata and – space permitting– Malinconia by Sibelius). The reason for re --recording the sonatas (apart from the factthat I love them more and more as I get older)is that this time the recording is with OlliMustonen, who is as much a fan of Martinůas I am. We have played the sonatas togethermany times over the years, and it seemednatural to record them along with Olli's ownsonata. In fact, Olli specifically asked that whenwe got around to recording his sonata (thepremiere recording, by the way), it be coupledwith Martinů. Olli plays Martinů amazingly!

} Dvořák in October, Martinů at thebeginning of next year – it would seem thatyou have entered your Czech period?

Yes, and my second recording of Janáček'sPohádka has just come out; and this pastsummer I programmed and performed in a mini-series of two concerts of Czech chamber music(Suk, Martinů, Smetana, Janáček and Dvořák)at the Verbier and Salzburg festivals. Indeeda lot of Czech music at the moment! But I havealways adored these composers, and I'm sureI always shall – there is something about Czechmusic that I find uniquely attractive. I think itis the innocence, the sense of closeness to thefolk spirit – no matter how sophisticated thecomposition.

} You have frequently performed Frenchcom posers – Saint-Säens, Fauré, Ravel.Martinů spent many years in Paris too.Do you perceive him as continuing in the lineof 20th-century Czech music, or do youconsider him cosmopolitan?

I know that Martinů cited Debussy (and theEnglish madrigalists!) as his strongest foreigninfluences; but the music of his homelandalways seems to me prevalent over any other

voices in his music. Of course, one can hear hislove of Bach, Haydn and others as well – butBach, Haydn talking in 20th-century Czechaccents!

} How often do you play Martinů piecesat your concerts and recitals?

I play the sonatas very often, and occa -sionally the Slovak Variations. I have not yetplayed the concertos or much of the chambermusic; but I would like to if the opportunityarises and I have time to learn them.

} Do you work with Czech musiciansand conductors?

I have in the past worked with Jiří Bělohlávekand Petr Altrichter, with the Czech Philharmonicand with the Prague Symphony; but most re -cently I have been working with Jakub Hrůša –he is a big talent, and a very nice person.

} How are you preparing for recording theMartinů CD? Are you working with theBohuslav Martinů Institute or the MartinůCenter in Polička?

Yes, Mrs Seyčková at the Martinů Instituteand her colleagues have been wonderfullyhelpful; they have allowed me to see auto -

graphs of the first and third sonatas, whichI shall study before the recording. The Heugeledition of the first sonata contains so manyerrors – it's frus trating. The third sonatahas recently been published in a very goodauthentic edition – although Olli and I both likesome of the pas sages that are not in the newedition, so we might possibly restore them.(It doesn't seem to be completely clear whetherMartinů approved of or even composed theadditions or not; anyway, they are very minor.)Alas, the manuscript of the second sonataappears to be missing – a pity, since there areseveral inconsistencies in the Schirmer edition.

} What, in your opinion, is prerequisitefor performance of Martinů’s chambercompositions?

One needs a strong sense of rhythm – a feel ing for dance and for the precise excite -ment of the motoric elements in Martinů'smusic. But I think one needs also a strongfeeling of joy, somehow – even in an essentiallytragic work like the first sonata. His musichas to pulse with life!

} Within the context of Czech music,Martinů is one of the most significantcomposers. How do you perceive him withinthe context of international music?

I think that his reputation will continueto grow and grow. Whenever I am presentat a perform ance of one of his symphonies,I see how much audiences everywhere love hismusic. (When I played the Dvořák concertowith the Berlin Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert,for instance, they played a Martinů symphonyin the second half; it was a triumph.) Just lastnight, I went to hear Juliette at the EnglishNational Opera; everybody to whom I spokewas profoundly impressed by the work, andmany were won dering why they didn't knowmore Martinů. Also, his goodness seems toshine through his art. My adorable late friend,the Russian/Ameri can cellist Raya Garbousova,told me a charming (though sad) story aboutMartinů. In the 1940s, she was invited (byKoussevitsky, I think) to commission a com -poser to write a concerto for her. She wentto Martinů. He agreed to com pose the work.She then asked what his fee might be.'Oh, I'll compose it for nothing,' was his answer.'But,' he added, 'could you just give me enoughmoney to buy the manuscript paper?' Not manycomposers were that unworldly… ❚

...WITH STEVEN ISSERLIS

British cellist Steven Isserlis


news

IN SEPTEMBER 2012,JIŘÍ BĚLOHLÁVEK received Britain’sprestigious Gramophone Award forthe recording of the six BohuslavMartinů sym phonies released by Onyx. Mike Ashman, a Gramophone critic,wrote on this occasion: “I could not agreeless. The six symphonies of Martinů,like the contemporary late works of BélaBartók, are the war pieces of an artistin a state of pain and exile that is both

personal and political. Their lyrical moments, perhaps, can be gracefuland elegant although one suspects, as in the tricky (and, in some aspects,most modern) No. 6, that this relative repose is either deliber ately cynicalor a mocking quotation of other composers who can afford to be atrest at such a time in the world’s affairs. That pain and stress are clearly,and superbly, realised here.”

Bělohlávek could not attend the awards ceremony in person, since atthe time he was busy rehearsing with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.In a video message, he pointed out that recording the cycle of Martinůsymphonies was one of the highlights of his six-year tenure at the BBCSymphony Orchestra. He also extended his thanks to the Onyx label,owing to which the album, entitled “Martinů: The Six Symphonies”,could reach out to a wider audience. ❚

For more information: www.gramophone.co.uk/awards/2012/orchestral

MR. ERIC VAN LAUWE, a Paris-based collector, has purchased the autographof the Martinů composition Pastorals, six pieces for cello and piano, H. 190from the auction house Ader and kindly provided Bohuslav Martinů Foundationand Institute with a colour copy. Previously, our researchers only had availablea black-and -white copy from the publisher. We would like to extend our heart -felt thanks to Mr. Van Lauwe for sending us the facsimile. ❚

PLAY WITH THE PROFESSIONALS –PLAYWIP 2012MASTER CLASSES WITH THE MARTINŮQUARTET IN SOUTH BOHEMIA AS HAS BECOME AN ANNUAL TRADITION,chamber music master classes led by members ofthe Martinů Quartet took place at the beginningof August in two one-week batches in the beautifulSouth Bohemian town of Jindřichův Hradec.The classes, titled Play with the Professionals(PLAYWIP), are intended for amateurs, semi-professionals, as well as professional musicians,who during the summer want to hone their skills(the most frequent instruments being the violin,viola, cello, flute and piano). Christian Boller cameup with the idea of PLAYWIP in 2001, and since2006 the workshops with the Martinů Quartet

NEW CDI FLAUTISTI – The London RecorderQuartet was founded in 2009 to en -cour age the popularity and growth ofrepertoire for recorder consort throughengaging and innovative perform -ances. This group have independentlycommissioned new works for recorderquartet in their profes sional capacity

have been extended owing to the large numberof musicians registered.

During the week-long courses, the partici pantspractised selected chamber compositions in en -sembles. For each course, professionals from theMartinů Quartet choose one chamber work byBohuslav Martinů. In 2012, it was Promenades,H. 247, for violin, flute and harpsichord/piano.In collaboration with Mrs Lucie Harasim Berná

from the Bohuslav Martinů Institute, LubomírHavlák, first violin of the Martinů Quartet, orga -nised an evening lecture on the theme of Martinů’slife and chamber œuvre for each batch of partici -pants. The two lectures met with great enthusiasmon the part of musicians from Germany, the Nether -lands, Belgium, England and the USA.

Martinů Quartet is a member of the InternationalMartinů Circle. ❚

as an inter national ensemble. Theirfirst album Sound Clouds presentspockets of sounds and a col labo rativemixture of musical colours includingpieces from Arvo Pärt, Chiel Meijeringand Alan Davis, composers thatalready have a strong link to theirinstru ment. The album also includessome beautiful early music and theDivertimento for two recorders,H. 365 by Bohuslav Martinů (previ -ously recorded only at non -commercialCD of the Bohuslav Martinů Founda -tion in Prague – Bohuslav Martinů Days2008, published in 2010) as otherexamples of existing and importantworks for recorder consort. ❚

Documents

INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN ISSERLIS OPERA JULIETTE IN … · 23 February 2013 > Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall, Prague, CZ HOMAGE TO RUDOLF FIRKUŠNÝ — Fantasy and Toccata, H.281 Jiří