MRTHE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ FOUNDATIONTHE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ INSTITUTETHE INTERNATIONALMARTINŮ CIRCLE

september—december 2016 / vol.XVI / no.3martinů complete edition – premieres

martinů and the kroll quartet

pro arte quartet

mirandolina in venice

new discoveries

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3 reviewsthe bohuslav martinů complete edition reviewed by notes NIGEL SIMEONE

4 newsnew items at the bohuslav martinů instituteJANA HONZÍKOVÁ, JANA FRANKOVÁ

5 incircle news

6 reviewbmce, vol. 4: premieres of martinů’s chamber music PATRICK LAMBERT

7 reviewbmce, vol. 3: celebratory concertJIŘÍ KOLÁŘ

obituary: miroslav košler / 1931—2016

8 researchjolly good fellow: the odyssey of william krollTULLY POTTER

10 interview…with the pianist ivo kahánekANNA MATOUŠKOVÁ

12 portraitjakub hrůša on jiří bělohlávek / part 2

14 researchbohuslav martinůand the pro arte quartetANNE VAN MALDEREN

18 cd reviewbohuslav martinů: arianeMICHAELA VOSTŘELOVÁ

19 reviewmirandolina in veniceDAVID CHALOUPKA

new CDs

Masterpieces for Piano Left Hand (II)(Janáček, Martinů, Brahms, Strauss)Historical recordings, recorded 1962–1999Martinů: Concertino (Divertimento) for Piano(Left Hand) and Small Orchestra, H 173Siegfried Rapp (Piano), Loh-Orchester Sondershausen,Gerhardt Wiesenhütter (Conductor)Recorded in Sondershausen (Germany),4–6 December 1962, CruciskirchePraga Digitals, 2015, PRD 250316, TT 78:35

Martinů Early Recordings Part 2The Shadow – Ballet in One Act, H 102 (1916)Dorota Szczepańska (Soprano), Anna Maria Staśkiewicz (Violin),Agnieszka Kopacka (Piano)Sinfonia Varsovia, Ian Hobson (Conductor)Recorded on 16–17 December 2015WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGToccata Classics 2016, TOCC 0249, TT 66:37MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL Recording of the Year 2016

Bohuslav Martinů: Complete Piano ConcertosPiano Concerto No. 1, H 149 (Václav Mácha) Piano Concerto No. 2, H 237 (Karel Košárek)Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, H 269(Adam Skoumal)Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, H 292(Daniel Wiesner, Miroslav Sekera)Piano Concerto No. 3, H 316 (Martin Kasík)Piano Concerto No. 4 „Incantation“, H 358(Igor Ardašev)Piano Concerto No. 5, H 366 (Ivo Kahánek)Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tomáš Brauner (Conductor)Recorded 2015–2016, Radio Studio No. 1, PragueČeský rozhlas, Radioservis, 2016, CR0776-2, TT 175:26

Dvořák, MartinůChristian Poltéra (Cello)Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester BerlinThomas Dausgaard (Conductor)Martinů: Concerto No. 1 for Cello and Orchestra, H 196 IIIRecorded in 2014BIS-2157 SACD 2016

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manuscript is now in the Robert Owen LehmanCollection, on deposit at the Pierpont MorganLibrary.) These missing measures are to be foundamong several fascinating appendices in this newedition, which also include the original versions ofthe opening of the first movement and the closingmeasures of the finale. This edition is the workof Sharon Andrea Choa—a conductor as wellas a scholar—who brings to the task practicalexperience of performing the work, as well as higheditorial standards. As Choa notes in the criticalreport, “the printed full score published by B&H in1950 was produced with extreme care” (p. 232),but even so there are errors and inconsistenciesthat Choa has aimed to correct.

Throughout the score, the small alterations thathave been made are pragmatic and helpful, andwhere Martinů put a mixture of accents in and outof parentheses in B&H (as in m. 11), this is faith -fully reflected in the new edition—so there’s beenno interventionist standardization. The instrumen -tal nomenclature has reverted from the Englishused in B&H to the Italian on Martinů’s manu -script. The rehearsal numbers from B&H (scoreand parts) have been retained throughout. Theeditorial guidelines appear to have been workedout with great care, and I’m delighted to reportthat there is none of the notational idiosyncrasy

NIGEL SIMEONE reviews the firsttwo volumes of the BMCE forthe September edition of Notes,the Quarterly Journal of the MusicLibrary Association.

EXCERPTS:Martinů’s published scores are not always as un -am biguous as they might be. That state of affairsprovides one very good reason for a schol arlycritical edition of his works, but in Martinů’s casethere are other compelling factors. He has a repu -tation for being “too prolific,” and is some timesdismissed for being an uneven com poser. Certainlythere are times when he relies rather too heavilyon tried-and-tested harmonic formulae, and noteverything is on the inspired level of the DoubleConcerto or the 1937 opera Julietta. But withoutbeing able to study the scores of all his largescaleworks, it is hard to come to any bal anced judg -ment. That is just what this new edition willenable us to do, providing the oppor tunity toassess Martinů more thoroughly, and (eventually)to be able to study the whole of his output.

This is a big project, and one that should domuch to secure Martinů’s reputation by makingthe whole of his output accessible to performersand scholars.

Symphony No. 4, H 305:Those familiar with the published orchestral scoreof the symphony ([London: Boosey & Hawkes,1950], plate number B & H 16616, 166 pages)might wonder whether a new edition is reallynecessary. The short answer is a resounding “yes,”despite the general reliability of the originalBoosey & Hawkes score. One reason is that thereis plenty more to discover about this symphony.This new edition is not only useful as a cleanlyedited text, but it also turns out to be extremelyinformative. My own curiosity about the musicaltext of the Fourth Symphony was aroused whenthe autograph manuscript was auctioned atSotheby’s in London on 23 November 2013 (lot185), including correction leaves that had musicfrom the slow movement that was nowhere tobe found in the Boosey &Hawkes full score. (The

of the Janáček complete edition (also publishedby Bärenreiter). With the additional material inthe appendices, and the extensive introductionand critical apparatus, this edition should be ofthe greatest interest to anybody performing orstudying this symphony, particularly as the taskof editing it has been done so meticulously.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, H 351:It’s a fascinating work—one in which Martinůavoids any kind of formulaic writing, draws on theinfluence of medieval music in places to createa rather austere, ascetic sound-world, and findsplenty of rhythmic freedom in the writing. Thegenre of Gilgamesh was problematic for Martinů:he wrote that it was “neither an oratorio, nora cantata—it is simply an epic.” One puzzle iswhy it is performed so rarely, and this new editionshould encourage are evaluation of a work thatdoesn’t have an easy appeal but is certainly verystriking. Březina’s edition is a model of its kind.As well as the discussion of context and genesis,the introductory matter also includes a numberof carefully-chosen facsimile pages from variousstages in the work’s evolution (including the pre -liminary sketch). The critical report is laid out withan admirable combination of clarity and detail,and the complete English and German libretto isprinted at the end (the score itself prints just theEnglish text set by Martinů). As with the FourthSymphony, Bärenreiter’s note-setting is beautifullyclear throughout, and well laid-out on the page.As befits an edition of this kind, the paper is ofhigh quality, as is the sturdy cloth binding of bothvolumes. Martinů’s admirers have always regardedhim as a significant figure in twentieth-centurymusic, but concert promoters have not alwaysshown the same kind of enthusiasm. This newcomplete edition—which I strongly recommendto music libraries and serious Martinů enthusiastsalike—should do much to bring his music in fromthe margins. These first two volumes are a mostauspicious start to the project.

NIGEL SIMEONE

Excerpts are reprinted from Notes, September 2016, pp 166—170,

with their kind permission

the bohuslav martinů complete edition was reviewed by the international music periodical notes

news

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new items at the bohuslavmartinů institute/ JANA FRANKOVÁ & JANA HONZÍKOVÁ

New sources pertaining to Bohuslav Martinůworks – The Field Mass, The Spectre’s Bride,Violin Concerto No. 1, and others

IN 2015, intensive source research towards theComplete Bohuslav Martinů Edition led to theacquisition of numerous interesting items by theBohuslav Martinů Institute. We not only sought outsources relating to the currently published workswithin the Complete Edition, but aimed also toexpand our catalogue of archival sources moregenerally. One of the previous Martinů Revue issues(1/2016) presented sources from the archive ofDie Haghe Sanghers in The Hague in more detail,specifically those pertaining to The Mount of ThreeLights, H 349, The Prophecy of Isaiah, H 383and The Field Mass, H 279 (see also the articlein Martinů Revue 2016/1).

In the meantime, our investigations at the CzechPhilharmonic archive have yielded performancematerial that was created for the world premiere ofthe The Field Mass, which was conducted by RafaelKubelík in Prague on 28 February 1946. As Martinůhimself did not directly participate in the prepara -tion for the premiere, the new source is not relevantfor the work’s critical edition, yet it documents thefirst performance in a very intriguing way. It in -cludes the complete instrumental parts (Picc I, II,Cl I, II, Tr I, II, III, Trb I, II, Timp, GC, Ptti, Tamb piccc cord, Tamp picc s timb, Tamb mil, Crot, Trgl,Cpnlle, Arm, Pf) and one short vocal score, dividedinto two books (I, II), containing the chorus tenorand bass parts, as well as the solo baritone part.

This vocal score, dated “23. 1. 1946”, sheds inter -esting light on previously known details of thepiece’s premiere. In terms of its contents and thedivision of the vocal parts, it fully complies withBohuslav Martinů’s intent as captured in the work’sautograph score and the composer’s commentaries(see below), in that it presents the baritone soloin its full extent.1 Even though the sheet musicdiscovered comports with the autograph score,testimony from the premiere has shown thatarrangements were evidently made during therehearsals. In his autobiographical book Podivnélásky (Strange Loves), Jiří Mucha mentions that thesoloist (Theodor Šrubař) had his manu script partssignificantly shortened from what appears in thecomposer’s autograph.2 The part’s altered version,this time with a segment of the solo part trans -ferred to the chorus (the soldier’s intro duc torysong, bars 107–148), was also included in the firstedition of the work, published by Melantrich in

Prague (1947).3 Mucha’s account of the abridge-ment is supported by Martinů’s direct response toa recording of The Field Mass made by Die HagheSanghers, again conducted by Rafael Kubelík(6 June 1956). The composer repeatedly pointed outthat the introductory soldier’s song (b. 107–148) isassigned to the soloist, not the chorus.4 Melantrich’srental music material was subsequently corrected.The fragmentary nature of the vocal parts pre -served from the premiere does not make it possibleto confirm or disprove Jiří Mucha’s assertionrelating to the shortened bari tone solo, yet it doesdocument that it did not con cern an erroneouscopy of the autograph score, in which the soloist’sentry is not unambiguously marked. If, then,Kubelík or someone else finally abridged thesoloist’s part for the premiere, and handed over

these sections to the chorus or deleted them alto -gether, these modifications must have been enteredin the now missing segment of the performancematerial from the archive of the Czech Philhar -monic.

Linked with the same volume of the CompleteBohuslav Martinů Edition is the discovery anddigitisation of source material containing Martinů’sThe Spectre’s Bride, H 214 A.5 It concerns thechoral score and the piano reduction of the firstversion of The Chap-book, H 214 I, which have beenpreserved in the archive of the National Theatre inPrague and came into being in connection with thepiece’s world premiere there (19 September 1933).These sources are copies of the autograph pianoreduc tion, which has been preserved only in frag -ments. The choral score has been preserved itits entirety, while the piano reduction with stagedirections is only for Acts II and III.

Notable, too, is the discovery and acquisition ofcopies of the performance material for Concertofor Violin and Orchestra No. 1, H 226, made forits world premiere (25 October 1973) in Chicago,given by the soloist Josef Suk and the ChicagoSymphony Orches tra (conducted by Georg Solti).These sources are important for the other plannedvolumes of the Complete Bohuslav Martinů Edition.

In addition to sheet music, we have also extendedour stock of correspondence and other relateddocuments. We have procured from the NationalArchive copies of 17 previously unknown letters,written by Martinů to Hubert Ripka and JosefBrumlík. The letters date from between 1940 and1946, and pertain to Martinů’s involvement in thepromotion of Czech music in France during WorldWar II and his possible participation in similar activ -ities after 1945. We have obtained copies of threeletters written by Martinů to Josef Munclinger fromthe archive of the National Museum in Prague. Theletters, written in 1935 and 1936, contain intriguing

stage directions relating to The Miracles of Mary, H 236.6 Moreover, we have acquired copies of indi -vidual letters between Martinů and various figures(Marcel Mihalovici, Louis Kaufman and BorisKoutzen). Furthermore, we have acquired copiesof Alexander Tansmann’s hand-written autobio -graphic notes on the École de Paris from a privatecollection.7

OTHER SOURCESCzech Museum of Music – The Bohuslav MartinůInstitute directed its attention to the archive ofCzech Nonet, cataloguing the peronal effects ofthe ensemble that relate to Martinů. Documentsacquired by the Institute include reviews, pro -grammes and lists of compositions. Notable amongthese documents are those concerning the NonetNo. 2, H 374.Bohuslav Martinů Foundation – The Foundationhas purchased valuable autographs, prints andsketches from Prof. Ivan Štraus. The materialsrelate to several works, including the Songs onOne Page, H 294, Songs on Two Pages, H 302,Czech Madrigals, H 278, and the Concerto forViolin and Orchestra No. 2, H 293. With regardto the Concerto, the Foundation acquired the auto -graph piano reduction (52 pp.), and the autographviolin part (12 pp.), and 8 pages of sketches. Thedocuments are being digitised in high quality atthe Bohuslav Martinů Institute.Schott Publishers – Music materials obtainedby the Bohuslav Martinů Institute from SchottPublishers are now being digitised in high quality.These include the autograph score, the autographsolo part and the autograph piano reduction ofConcerto for Cello No. 1, H 196, and the autographsof Les Ritournelles and the Esquisses de Danses. Princeton University, USA – The Bohuslav MartinůInstitute has acquired several new documentsfrom the archive of Princeton University. Theseinclude programmes and correspondence relatingto Mar tinů’s tenure at the school between 1948and 1950.

1 Identical information is contained in the score’s undatedcopy, made by the Prague-based copyist Karel Adler, whichis also maintained in the archive of the Czech Philhar -monic. The connection between the copy and the work’spre miere by the Czech Philharmonic is not defi nite. Russ -ian translations of the original Czech vocal text addedunder it indicate that the score was used repeatedly.

2 Jiří Mucha, Podivné lásky (Prague, Mladá fronta, 1988),pp. 308–309. (In the French edition, Au seuil de la nuit.Editions de l’Aube, 1991, p. 276.)

3 The situation pertaining to the sources and the genesisof The Field Mass is dealt with in detail by Paul Wingfieldin Volume 3 of the Complete Bohuslav Martinů Edition(in press).

4 See Martinů’s letters to Die Haghe Sanghers (29 July 1956,Die Haghe Sanghers archive) and Miloslav Bureš(25 September 1956, the Bohuslav Martinů Centre inPolička, shelf-mark: PBM Kb 648). For more information,see www.database.martinu.cz.

5 The genesis of The Spectre’s Bride and the situationpertaining to its sources is dealt with in detail by PaulWingfield in Volume 3 of the Complete Bohuslav MartinůEdition (in press).

6 The letters are analysed at length in Lucie Jirglová’s study,currently under preparation.

7 The source was dealt with in detail by Aleš Březina in hispaper École de Paris – Fiction or Reality?, presented at theinternational conference Paris, City of Light in Londonon 28 May 2015. The study is now being prepared forpublication.

International Martinů CircleGENERAL INFORMATION

Members 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 & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

ï YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION:25 EUR / 30 USD / 18 GBP / 450 CZK

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For further details and for single copiesof the Martinů Revue contact: Lucie Jirglováphone: +420 773 656 586e-mail: incircle@martinu.cz

The International Martinů Circle, o.s. Bořanovická 1779/14 182 00 Praha 8-Kobylisy, CZ

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS > Thanh-Tâm Lê, France> Charles Olivieri-Munroe, Canada

NEW CDBohuslav Martinů Days 2014: StringQuartet No. 4, H 256, Field Mass,H 279 (historical recording)

2017 SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENTSWE WOULD REQUEST members to forward their 2017 subscrip tionpayments through their usual channels. A list of our inter nationalcontacts:> For Great Britain:

Phillip C. Boswell, pcboswell78@gmail.com, 3 Warren Croft,Storrington, RH20 4BE Great Britain

> For Netherlands and Luxembourg:Gert Floor (Netherlands), gsmfloor@xs4all.nl, +31725095262,Gortersweg 6, 1871 CC Schoorl, Netherlands

> For France and Belgium:Nicolas Derny, 55 Chemin de Mons, 6220 Fleurus, Belgium,phone: +32 472360869, n.derny@gmail.com

> For USA:Robert Simon, rcs7684@yahoo.com, mobile number 216-973-7716,322 E Colfax Ave #103, South Bend, IN 46617, USA

> For Germany:Lucie & Clemens Harasim, lucie@martinu.cz, +49 152 581 668 32

Members from other countries please pay via:– IMC Paypal account at: www.martinu.cz, section International

Martinů Circle, subsection Membership– or directly via bank account in Prague (the number you can find at

the same web page — section).PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME WHEN PAYING VIA BANK TRANSFER,SO WE CAN IDENTIFY YOUR PAYMENT.Members who pay their subscriptions via the Dvořák Society shouldcontinue to do so. Those wishing to pay in Czech currency or by cashshould contact us at incircle@martinu.cz ❚

VOTING SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED OVER THE past few months, members of the International Martinů Cir -cle voted on the adoption of the new articles of the IMC and the elec -tion of its new delegates. We are now pleased to announce that thevot ing has been completed! A sufficient number of votes have been castfor the IMC’s operation to continue. Following the January meeting ofthe Board of Delegates, at which a new committee and chairman willbe elected, all the relevant documents will be delivered to the MunicipalCourt in Prague and an application will be submitted for the IMC’s in cor -poration in the Register of Societies. The next issue of the MartinůRevue will introduce the newly elected delegates and members of thenew com mittee. We greatly appreciate the support and collaboration onthe part of all the IMC members who participated in the vote. Thank youvery much indeed!

IMC BOARD MEETINGTHE BOARD of Delegates will meet on 27 January 2017 at the BohuslavMartinů Institute in Prague. The meeting coincides with a performanceof Martinů’s The Epic of Gilgamesh at the Rudolfinum, with Jiří Bělohlávekconducting the Czech Philharmonic.

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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 supportof the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation.Published with the financial supportof the Ministry of Culture of CzechRepublic, code No. MKCRX006Z32Y

Editors Zoja Seyčková & Lucie Harasim,Bohuslav Martinů InstituteJustin Krawitz (English language editor)

Publisher’s OfficeInternational Martinů Circle, o.s.IČ: 22688846Bořanovická 14, 182 00 Praha 8-Kobylisy,Czech Republice-mail: incircle@martinu.czwww.martinu.cz

Translation of selected articles Hilda Hearne

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

Graphic Design David Cígler

Printing BOOM TISK, spol. s r.o.

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

CoverBohuslav Martinů in New York, 1942

ISSN 1803-8514MK ČR E 18911

www.martinu.cz

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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

incirclenews

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obvious and simple mistake was a displacedtrumpet line and the players gave a graphic‘before and after’ demonstration, not withoutmodest blushes from the excellent trumpeter.The Institute deserves congratulations forsuccessfully gathering together five very ablerecorder players for the work that opened thesecond half of the concert: Stowe Pastorals,H 335, written in New York in 1951. Here, thechurch-like acoustic actually enhanced the

played, despite the cav -ernous acoustic of theMuseum’s atrium, theyexpress the sheer joyof music making, which

is all one should ask of serenades written asa kind of homage to Mozart. Part one wasrounded off by a lively account of Les Rondes,H 200, a work that I have always felt deservesto be played just as often as the similarlyscored, jazz influenced ballet suite La revue decuisine, H 161. It was dedi cated to Jan Kunc,who in the late 1920s unsuc cessfully tried topersuade Martinů to return to Czechoslovakiato teach com position at the Brno Conservatoireof which he was director. For perhaps the firsttime in Martinů’s output the music is deeplyinfluenced by Moravian folk idioms. Indeed,in a letter to Jan Kunc Martinů entitled thisset of six effectively contrasted numbers asMoravian Dances. Superbly scored, with brilliantpiano and trumpet parts, it unfor tunatelysounded rather muddled during fast passages,only because of the problematic acoustic.Aleš Březina, a director of Bohuslav MartinůInstitute, explained that, though most of theeditorial corrections were quite subtle, one

/ PATRICK LAMBERT

IT IS ADMIRABLE that the Bohuslav MartinůInstitute is establishing a tradition wherebycompositions receive premiere performances intheir critically edited form as each volume rollsoff the production line. After Martinů Revisited,we now have Martinů Reborn! These “worldpremieres” take place not only in Prague butalso in Brno, where for instance The Epic ofGilgamesh, H 351 (Volume 1) was given ata Brno Philharmonic concert conducted byAleksandar Marković (December 2014) andwhere that work is now included in Brno

National Theatre’s repertoire in a fully stagedpresentation as part of a double bill withPurcell’s Dido and Aeneas. The cantata TheSpectre’s Bride, H 214 A (Volume 3, originallythe final part of Špalíček) was also performedby the Brno Philharmonic under the baton ofthe up-and-coming young conductor Jiří Rožeň(23, 24 November 2016). Let us hope that such‘christenings’ will promote further per form ancesnow that musicians know that reli able andeasily obtainable editions from a single sourcewith all textual problems expertly ironed outnow exist in the world.

The concert of five chamber works, combin -ing wind with stringed instruments, (Volume 4,editor Jitka Zichová) given by members of thePKF – Prague Philharmonia and friends on17 Oc tober in the Czech Museum of Music,opened with two of the little Serenades(Nos. 1 & 3, H 217, H 218). These charming,expertly crafted yet unpretentious pieces nicelyset the mood for the evening. Beautifully

premieres of martinů’s chamber musicgiven by members of the prague philharmonia/ bohuslav martinů complete edition, volume 4

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The last page of Ančerl’s letter to the composer from 14 January 1957

y Aleš Březina (presenter)& members of the PKF –Prague Philharmonia

< From left to right:Aleš Březina, Jitka Zichová,Jitka Pánek Jurková, LudvíkKašpárek, Jonáš Hájek

music and I was not the only one to detecta Christmas aura to this beguiling com po -sition; perhaps the three movements shouldhave been called Pastorellas. The evening wasbrought to a glorious close by a well estab -lished masterpiece from the very end of thecomposer’s life: Nonet No. 2, H 374, datingfrom January/February 1959 and dedicatedto the Czech Nonet on its 35th anniversary.Two years earlier, in a letter to the composer(14 January 1957), Karel Ančerl had explainedthe instrumental make up of the nonet ofthe Czech Philharmonic , describing it as an“outstanding ensemble” and informing himthat his pupil Jan Novák had recently written“delightful Balletti” for them. By the timeMartinů sat down to write his own piece forthis combination, Novák had sent him thescore of Balletti à 9 and invited his comments.In a belated reply, Martinů conceded thatthey “contain a spark”, but felt that thethematic working out was somewhat facile(Martinů’s letter from February 1959 isquoted in Charlotte Martinů: Můj živots Bohuslavem Martinů, 2003 Editio BärenreiterPraha, p. 193–194). I cannot help thinkingthat he himself was partly prompted tocompose his nonet out of a sense of friendlyrivalry with his former pupil. Needless to say,the thematic working out is masterly, thoughMartinů was seriously ill by that time. Despitethe folkloristic brightness of the music, thisthree movement piece is more than occa sion -ally “tinged with sadness”, as the aging com -poser once described his music, and I havealways felt that this work somehow repre -sents his farewell and Amen to life. I recentlydiscovered a Soviet LP, probably datingfrom the 1970s, where the players take sixand a half minutes to perform the centralAndante, as against just over five minutestaken by the Czech Nonet, the dedicatees, intheir authentic original recording. The playersfrom the PKF – Prague Philharmonia success -fully proved that it is not necessary to adopta funereal tempo in order for this work to bedeeply moving. A wonderful concert all in alland a great occasion! ❚

photos vojtěch jouza

miroslav košler / 1931—2016ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2016, the distinguished Czech conductor, chorusmaster and music educator Miroslav Košler passed away. Brother ofthe famed con ductor Zdeněk Košler, he was born in Prague in 1931. In1951 he was named artistic director of the Prague Mixed Choir, withwhom he garnered acclaim in numerous coun tries in Europe, as wellas in Japan and the USA. He also directed the Prague Male Choir and,from 2005, the Prague Philhar monic Choir. Moreover, he worked witha number of promi nent ensembles and orchestras, including the Wiener Philharmoniker and theDresdner Phil harmonie, La Scala in Milan, and the Slovak Philharmonic in Bratislava. Noteworthytoo are his collabo rations with such globally renowned con ductors as Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti,Kent Nagano, Jiří Bělo hlávek and Vladimír Válek. Throughout his career, Miroslav Košler was anenthusiastic exponent of Bohuslav Martinů’s choral works. ❚

/ JIŘÍ KOLÁŘ

ON MONDAY 27 JUNE 2016, under the auspicesof the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic,Daniel Herman, the Prague Mixed Choir helda concert marking the 85th birthday of itshonorary artistic director, Miroslav Košler. Bornon 25 July 1931, Košler is a legend of Czechchoral art. The audience at the packed Churchof Saints Simon and Jude in Prague heard threegrand vocal-instrumental works by BohuslavMartinů, one of Mr. Košler’s favourite com -posers: The Opening of the Springs, H 354;Field Mass, H 279; and Mikeš of the Mountains,H 375. The programme showcased the excel -lence of the individual sections of the choir,which were specially reinforced for the occa -sion, as well as the strength of its basic mixedconfiguration. Splendid performances were alsogiven by the soloists Nao Higano (soprano),Martina Bauerová (alto), Jakub Turek (tenor) andJosef Škarka (baritone), the instrumentalistsVladislava Hořovská and Anna Anghelescu(violin), Zuzana Peřinová (viola), Petr Ožana(piano), and the Band of the Castle Guards andPolice of the Czech Republic. Occupying thepodium were the conductors Jiří Petrdlík andJan Steyer, who were most convincing.

The audience, which included a number ofprominent Czech musical figures, were in fora special treat. With support from the BohuslavMartinů Foundation, the Grant Agency of the

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Czech Republic and the State Fund for Cultureof the Czech Republic, last year saw the launchof Complete Bohuslav Martinů Edition. Thispraiseworthy project aims to make all BohuslavMartinů’s compositions accessible in all theversions made or authorised by the composer.It will also encompass recently discovered orpreviously unpublished Martinů pieces. In 2015,editorial work on the cantata The Epic ofGilgamesh, H 351, and Symphony No. 4, H 305,was concluded. One of the works the editorshave been focusing on this year is the chal leng -ing Field Mass. In the Addendum to the mainmusical text, they have presented the original,previously unpublished, not yet performed finalsection of the piece, written to a text of the14th-century Czech sacred song Jezu Kriste,štědrý kněže (Merciful Jesus Christ). Martinůchanged this concluding section immediatelyafter finishing the work in December 1939.Following an explanatory introduction deliveredby Prof. Václav Riedlbauch, Director of theBohuslav Martinů Foundation, the audienceat the Church of Saints Simon and Jude heardthis original final section as an encore at theend of the first half of the concert.

The wonderful performance, particularlythe splendid accounts of the cantatas FieldMass and Mikeš of the Mountains, was a fittingbirthday present indeed for Miroslav Košler,in recognition of all he has done for Czechchoral singing over the past six decades. ❚

obituary

review

celebratory concert marking miroslav košler’sbirthday / bohuslav martinů complete edition, volume 3

resear

ch

/ TULLY POTTER

THE VIOLINIST William Kroll, who premieredtwo important works by Bohuslav Martinů – theString Sextet, H 224, and Concerto da Camera(String Quartet No. 7), H 314 – was a familiarfigure on the American chamber music scene forhalf a century and one of the key artists whoassisted Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge in her crusadeon behalf of contemporary composers. Describedby W. W. Cobbett as ‘the Lady Bountiful ofchamber music’,1 she had an enormous influ enceon the propagation of new works, not only in theUnited States but in Europe as well.

Kroll, known as Fritz to his friends because ofhis idolizing of Kreisler, was born in New York Cityon 30 January 1901. After initial studies with localviolin teachers, he showed such prodi gious talentthat he was sent off to study with Henri Marteauat the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin (1911–14).Although he made a suc cess ful New York débutin 1915, he felt he needed further training and so,after a gap of two years, he continued his studiesin violin and chamber music with the great quartetleader Franz Kneisel and in composition with PercyGoetschius at the Institute of Musical Art in NewYork. At the Institute, which was the fore-runnerof the Juilliard School (1917–22), he won theMaurice Loeb Prize. In 1922, he joined the ElshucoTrio, which was closely associated with MrsCoolidge.2 He stayed with the trio – whose othermembers were Aurelio Giorni (piano) and WillemWilleke (cello) – until 1929. Mrs Coolidge wasa true American aristocrat and, like her rival musi -cal patrons Mrs Gertrude Clarke Whittall and MrsWilliam Andrews Clark, was consider ably deaf: atconcerts she would wield a large ear trumpet andunobtrusively lower it to her lap if the music orthe performance displeased her. At the 1923 Berk -shire Festival, held under Mrs Coolidge’s auspicesat Pittsfield, Massa chusetts, Kroll led the newly-formed ‘Festival Quartet of South Mountain’ (withKarl Kraeuter, Edward Kreiner and Willeke) in Hin -demith’s Op. 10 – the start of a lifetime’s engage -ment with this composer’s music – and gavethe U.S. premiere of Gian Francesco Mali piero’sStornelle e Ballate. Richard Aldrich wrote that theensem ble played ‘with the precision of a veteranorganization and much more feeling for style andauthority of utterance than many of its elders’.3

For Mrs Coolidge’s inaugural Festival of Cham -ber Music at the Library of Congress in Washing -ton, D.C., in 1925, Kroll again led the quartet, with

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Kroll Quartet: Harry Zaratzian, William Kroll, William Stone, Avro Twerdowsky

jolly good fellow:

gress, this ensemble premiered Martinů’s StringSextet, H 224, which had won the previous year’sCoolidge Prize. That often obtuse critic Olin Downeskept referring to it as a quartet, but did at leastallow that it was ‘rich in material’ and wrote: ‘Itsstrength, freshness, and swing delighted the audi -ence.’6 Kroll’s colleagues were Nicolai Berezowsky,Léon Barzin, David Sackson, Milton Prinz and OssipGiskin; and they ended the programme with VerklärteNacht, praised by Downes: ‘Mr Kroll’s ensemble hadgiven very fine performances of the same compositionin New York, but its performance this morning sur -passed any previous one that the writer has heard,and in fact must rank as one of the finest ensembleperformances in the history of these Washingtonfestivals.’7 They gave several more ren derings of theMartinů, includ ing one at a private house – pairedwith Verklärte Nacht – and the New York premiereat Town Hall on 7 December 1934, with Brahms andBridge also on the programme. That year, Krollformed another trio with the pianist Frank Sheridanand the cellist Prinz. He also took over the leader -ship of the New York String Quartet – which hadoriginally been com posed of expatriate Czechs –until it disbanded in 1936. By then, only one founder,second violinist Jaroslav Siskovsky, re mained: theother members were David Mankovitz and HoraceBritt. Playing with them brought him into the orbitof the New York Chamber Music Society.

In June and July 1935, Mrs Coolidge spon soreda Brahms chamber music series at the University ofCalifornia and Kroll was chosen, with his col leagues

Hugo Kortschak now playing the viola. And in 1926his quartet, with the com poser Conrad Held onviola, inaugurated that year’s festival in Pittsfieldwith an American programme, featuring quartetsby G. W. Chad wick, David Stanley Smith and RubinGoldmark. At the first of Mrs Coolidge’s two con -certs in Paris in October 1929, Kroll was warmlyapplauded for his contribution to Malipiero’sSonata a tre. Henry Prunières thought his playing‘was a revelation in its delicate sensitivity, power andbrilliant sonority’.4 At the same con cert, Martinů’sCoolidge Prize-winning String Quintet, H 164,had its third performance, played by the QuatuorPro Arte and Lionel Tertis, and was much liked byPrunières: ‘This work impresses me as one of thebest produc tions of present-day chamber music.One feels from start to finish the presence of anextremely delicate sensibility and a wholly remark -able constructive spirit. Nothing is more alive, moreinstinct with life. The finale is a trifle scholastic andrecalls somewhat the over ture of The Mastersingers,but the ensemble of the quintet reveals a musicianwith whom one must reckon in the future.’5

In 1930, Kroll was leading another quartet,with Ralph Silverman, Egon Kornstein and NaoumBenditzky. Soon he had organised what at firstwas called the William Kroll String Ensemble andthen the William Kroll Sextet. Their warhorse wasSchoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, which they broad -cast on 19 November 1933 in the composer’s pres -ence. On 25 April 1933, in the fourth concert ofthe Cham ber Music Festival at the Library of Con -

With Mrs Coolidge’s blessing, Kroll founded anensemble under his own name in 1943 that ranconcurrently with the Coolidge for a year or so.His colleagues were Louis Graeler, Nathan Gordonand Avron Twerdowsky, and they gave their firstrecital at the Library of Congress on 13 December1943. It was difficult starting an ensemble inwartime and without Mrs Coolidge’s backing. Theyall needed other means of support. Graeler andGordon were in Toscanini’s NBC SO, Twerdowskywas with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and theNew Friends of Music, and Kroll had his solo workand various teaching jobs. In 1946, they formedthe Musicians’ Guild, with pianist Frank Sheridan,cellist Leonard Rose and the brother-and-sisterteam of Joseph Fuchs, violin, and Lillian Fuchs,viola. At the very first concert, in the New YorkTimes Hall on 20 January 1947, they performedMartinů’s Sextet, H 224, in the composer’s pres -ence with Carlton Cooley and Frank Miller of theNBC SO. ‘As in his other compositions, Mr Martinůhas something to say in this sextet,’ HowardTaubman commented. ‘He writes with the vigor,feeling and affirmation of a man who believes inhimself, his music and his future. If this music, in itszest, color and boldness, is represen tative of the wayMr Martinů’s countrymen feel, it is easy to see thathis country will have the energy to rebuild rapidly.In the meantime, it has a rich voice to sing for it inMr Martinů.’10 From then on, the Kroll Quartet gavefour New York concerts every season with theother Guild members. They were still welcome atthe Library of Congress and they gave innumer -able recitals at Town Hall, as well as touring.On 15 March 1947 they premiered Jacobi’s ThirdQuartet,11 on 22 April they took part in the pre -miere of Aaron Copland’s Sextet, with Leo Smit,piano, and David Oppenheim, clarinet, and on20 April 1948 they premiered Ross Lee Finney’sFourth Quartet. They made a point of playingHindemith’s Op. 22, which they later recorded –Kroll’s second document of the piece.

On 11 January 1949, they gave the premiere ofMartinů’s Concerto da Camera (String QuartetNo. 7), H 314 in a Musicians’ Guild concert at theNew York Times Hall. Expressing the opinion thatthere was ‘little that could be described as radical’in the work, Taubman wrote: ‘The Mar tinů quartetharks back in spirit and in facture to the late nine -teenth century. It is as if this Czech-born com poser,now living here, were recalling the feel and color ofhis country and its people. The thematic materialis songful, whether dressed out in the vigorousrhythms of the end movements or in the sustained,

rhapsodic quality of the slow movement. The scoringfor the four strings has the precision and clarityof a composer who knows his milieu thoroughly.The assurance, vigor and vitality of this music areengaging. The Kroll Quartet … gave the scorea dashing, mettlesome performance, with Mr Krollplaying the first violin part with particular spirit.Mr Martinů was in the audience and shared in theapplause.’12 The players kept the work in theirrepertoire for some time: on 14 January 1949 theyplayed it at the Library of Congress.

In 1957, the Musicians’ Guild suspended itsactivities after 11 years. It had performed around150 works, more than 40 by contem porary com -posers. The Kroll Quartet suffered two personnelchanges in the early 1960s: William Stone came inas second violinist and Harry Zaratzian as violist.They premiered David Diamond’s Second Quarteton 26 April 1961, and Piston’s Fifth on 8 October1962. In 1964 Kroll was appointed head of stringsat the Cleveland Institute of Music. The Quartetcarried on for another five seasons but in 1969 theplayers disbanded amicably. Although they hadnot been able to pursue the sort of radical reper -toire espoused by the Coolidge Quartet, they hadachieved a good deal for contemporary music.Sadly they made few commercial record ings:best known are Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge on78rpm discs and on LP, Wallingford Riegger’sSecond Quartet; Tchaikovsky’s First Quartet withProkofiev’s First; Haydn’s Opp. 54/2 and 77/1;Haydn’s ‘Lark’ with Schubert’s ‘Death and theMaiden’; Mozart’s ‘Hunt’ and ‘Dissonance’;Hindemith’s Op. 22 with Beethoven’s Op. 95; andMendelssohn’s Octet, for which they were joinedby a New York Philharmonic quartet. The Libraryof Congress has concert recordings of such worksas Martinů’s Concerto da Camera,13 Mrs Coolidge’sE minor Quartet, Piston’s Fifth Quartet and StringSextet (with Walter Trampler and Benar Heifetz),Schuman’s First Quartet, Malipiero’s 1963Quartetto per Elisabetto, Irving Fine’s 1952Quartet, Egon Wellesz’s Op. 60, Finney’s 1958Quintet, Persichetti’s Quintet (with the composerat the piano), Beethoven’s ‘Harp’, Second‘Rasumovsky’ and Op. 131, and Schubert’s C majorQuintet. The players used fine instruments: Krollthe 1709 ‘Ernst’ Stradi vari (up to 1950 he hada Guadagnini), Graeler a 1744 Carlo Bergonzi,Mankovitz a Gasparo da Saló and Twerdowskya 1704 Matteo Goffriller.

William Kroll was a busy teacher: he taughtat the Institute of Musical Art and then Juilliard(1922–38), he headed the chamber music depart -

martinůrevue32016 | 9

American violinist William Kroll, 1959

the odyssey of william kroll

Berezowsky, Barzin, Britt and Sheridan, to perform24 works in eight con certs, a task for which hewas well equipped. Just over a year later it wasannounced that Mrs Coolidge was to sponsora Coolidge Quartet consisting of Kroll, Berezowsky,Nicholas Moldavan and Victor Gottlieb as theresident ensemble at the Library of Congress.She entered into the project with enthusiasm,calling her quartettists ‘the Four Horseman ofthe ApoCoolidge’8 and writing: ‘My pleasure is aug -mented by pride in the fact that these four youngartists have chosen to call them selves “the CoolidgeQuartet”. No sweeter honor could befall me;because, in addition to the high artistic esteem inwhich I hold them, I feel a real family relationship– stronger, perhaps, than some of those of blood.In adopting my name they seem almost to havebecome my adopted children.’9

Alas, they never gelled into the great quartetshe hoped for. No doubt personnel changes werepartly responsible for this ultimate failure: theoriginal line-up stayed together until 1940, butthen there were three new second violinists(Jack Pepper, Louis Graeler, Leon Rudin), two newviolists (David Dawson, Jascha Veissi) and twonew cellists (Naoum Benditzky, Daniel Saiden-berg). Recordings confirm that they reacheda respectable standard but nothing more. By 1941the tensions within the ensemble were critical, by1944 they were almost inactive and in 1945 theydisbanded. Meanwhile, in 1942, Kroll was awardedthe Coolidge Medal.

intervie

wment at Tanglewood from 1949, and the violinfaculties at the Peabody, Hartt and Mannesmusic schools and Queens College. He startedthe cham ber music series at New York Univer -sity. He was also a composer: his orchestralpieces included one called Jolly Good Fellow.For string quartet he wrote Four Bagatelles andFour Characteristic Pieces. Every U.S. violinistplays his encore Banjo and Fiddle, a delightfulpiece of Americana. He died in Boston, Massa -chusetts, on 10 March 1980, aged 79.

In his magisterial study Great Masters of theViolin, Boris Schwarz wrote: ‘Kroll played with anextraordinary ease and elegance, unfailing into na -tion and bow control. His musicianship had depthand insight, and he led his quartet with authority,vigor, and much temperament.’14 And in ViolinVirtuosos, Henry Roth wrote: ‘As a violinist Krollwas greatly influenced by Kreisler. His playing,meticulous though at times a bit over-refined, wasnot without glints of temperament. His sweet,clear, comparatively small tone never dominatedhis colleagues, and the chamber music perform -ances he led were always marked by the supple -ness, fluency, and polish of his playing.’15

Tully Potter has been a professional journalist formore then 50 years. He has written for variousinternational musical journals, notably The Strad,and for 11 years he edited the quarterly magazineClassic Record Collector. Now he is preparing a book on the great quartetensembles. He is also a member of International Martinů Circle.

1 Cobbett’s Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music, compiledand edited by Walter Willson Cobbett (Oxford Univer -sity Press, London, Second Edition, 1963), Vol. II, 302.

2 The group’s name derived from the patron’s marriedname Elizabeth Shurtleff Coolidge.

3 ‘New Music Heard as Festival Ends’, The New YorkTimes, 30 September 1923.

4 ‘Concerts in Paris’, The New York Times, 1 December1929.

5 Ibid.6 ‘Prize Composition Heard at Festival’, The New York

Times, 26 April 1933.7 Ibid.8 Quoted in Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge: American Patron

of Music, by Cyrilla Barr (Schirmer Books, New York,1998), 283.

9 Broadcast speech, 7 August 1936. Ibid., 283–4.10 ‘Distinctive Music Offered by Guild’, The New York

Times, 21 January 1947.11 They also gave the first New York performance two

days later.12 ‘Martinů’s Quartet Has Première Here’, The New York

Times, 11 January 1949.13 From the 14 January 1949 concert.14 Great Masters of the Violin, by Boris Schwarz

(Robert Hale Limited, London, 1983), 511.15 Violin Virtuosos, by Henry Roth (California Classics

Books, Los Angeles, 1997), 251.

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…with the pianist ivo kahánek

“bohuslav martinů is

How do you approach interpreting BohuslavMartinů’s works? I don’t think it is the kind ofmusic you can sit down to and simply sight-read for pleasure. Bohuslav Martinů had a great penchant for perma -nently motoric rhythm. But the pianist must becareful that it doesn’t kill the other facets presentin his pieces. Everything in the score that seemsjust like a motoric element or figuration may alsohave other functions in the music. It can be saidthat when it comes to Martinů’s pieces for piano,they are not entirely typical in terms of techniqueeither. Accordingly, it takes you a while to get tothe bottom of his music. I would compare it withthe music of Béla Bartók, for instance: the diffi -culty of his compositions lies in their being atypical.

When it comes to listening, do you think thatsomeone not possessing any experience withMartinů’s music has any chance to getattached to it or comprehend it?When we compare Martinů with Janáček, forinstance, I think that Janáček in particular has theadvantage of a particular naturalness. His workshave an overwhelming emotional charge, and sothey don’t leave anyone indifferent. On the other

hand, I am quite surprised by how many peopledislike Janáček, to such a degree that they wouldrather listen to Stockhausen. In terms of harmonyand melody, Janáček’s music is actually nice. Itdoesn’t feature any aggressive modern atonality,but some people find it difficult to cope with sointense an emotional edge. Martinů presentsa different problem. You need to listen to his piecesseveral times and only then does it strike you howfantastic his music is. I say that there are manyMartinů pieces that people only appreciate at thethird hearing or even later. His music is rathercomplex, it contains certain surrealistic elements,passages that rather play with the listener, andsuch passages may weaken the first impression.Foreigners may find it difficult too.

How do you – as a musician/performer –approach Bohuslav Martinů’s music? Bohuslav Martinů is mysterious in some respects.The sources of his inspiration were rather clear-cutand non-traditional. During his mature period, healso drew stimuli from Italian vocal polyphony.When considering all this together, many a thingbecomes clear. Including, for instance, the reasonwhy Martinů sometimes didn’t write bar lines, which

/ ANNA MATOUŠKOVÁ

THE RENOWNED Czech pianist Ivo Kahánek, a prize-winner at the Prague Spring International MusicCompetition, has a highly professional approach to Bohuslav Martinů’s music, yet he also feels a per -sonal affinity for it. So it follows that he has included Martinů’s works on many concert pro grammes.Kahánek’s recent appearance at a benefit concert to support the Bohuslav Martinů Institute bearswitness to his close relationship to the composer’s music. The concert took place on 28 Novem -ber 2016 and included a selection from the New Slovak Songs performed with Martina Janková(Soprano) and Tomáš Král (Barytone). We asked Ivo Kahánek about his path to Martinů and hisapproach to the phenomenal composer’s music.

is connected with the linear narrative of his music– it cannot be bound by “graphic charts”. Anotherthing is that you have to decrypt his mu sic: asI have said, plenty of his piano pieces con tainsome form of motoric propulsion, with somefigurations often present. When you only ap proachit mechanically, Martinů’s music is deprived ofsome thing. When you sit down to the PianoSonata, it is almost ungraspable – and find ing itscharacters is more difficult than learning the pieceby heart. You have to explore the com position,both rationally and emotionally. Then you may beinspired as to how to play this or that passage.

How do you learn Martinů pieces by heart?In Martinů’s case, it is of great importance to learnhis pieces comprehensively, especially his pianoconcertos, the fourth and the fifth in par ticular, asthey are more akin to symphonies with solo piano.You should connect yourself to the entire organ -ism, perceive the piano’s connection to the orches -tral part. This connection evokes in you someemotion, which will help you to remem ber it bet -ter. I think that, among other things, Martinů wasalso quite a playful person; many of his com po si -tions contain a specific type of musical humour,even though they are not humorous as such.

As you say, his music should be perceived inall its complexity, that is how Martinů himselfwanted it to be approached. He didn’t see anysense in analysing his music either. But whatabout the performer? Analysis is necessary forhim/her to understand the entirety, is it not? When I had time, I analysed Concerto for PianoNo. 4 (Incantation) inside-out, from all possibleangles. When analysis is mentioned, it is rationalanalysis that crosses people’s minds. That means“I will strip it down part by part, and mark every -thing in detail”, that is, working in a sort of spread -sheet manner. I had in mind rather a kind of intu -itive analysis. I let the music act on me, I can evenwrite down a few characters that may occur tome when listening to it. When it comes to Incan -tation, I carried out both the intuitive and the ra -tional analyses, then I went on to juxtapose themand found out that they conformed to each otherin many aspects. What I think Martinů strove tosay is that when someone listens to his music,he/she should listen to its course, simply getconnected to the code, let oneself be carried bythe music and therefore refrain from analysing itin the moment. But I think that performers is in

work for solo piano, even though it has beenreferred to as one of the high-points of his pianoœuvre, which, in a way, it is. But sometimes,because is exudes what Martinů was goingthrough, it is not easy to listen to.

What are the greatest difficulties that pianistshave to contend with in Martinů’s music?Its difficulty lies in the overall musical and tech ni -cal aspects, but I don’t think that it concerns anyespecially troublesome techniques. The musiccomes across as rather exotic and difficult to learnfor pianists, when they don’t possess sufficientexperience with it, that’s until they have acceptedthe fact that the performer has to think acrossthe bar line and work with impulses in a premedi -tated way. Martinů’s is the type of music that allof a sudden can become markedly simpler if youportion it out differently in your mind. If I askedyou, for instance, to quickly repeat the letters, u, k,b, u, k, b…, your tongue would tangle itself up, butif you say buk, buk, buk, it is easy. I would likenone of the aspects of the difficulty in Martinů’smusic to this.

And how did you personally seek the path to it?Was it a long journey, was it love at first sight?In some respects, it might have been love at firstsight. When I first heard Incantation, for example,which was when I was still at the conservatory,I was flabbergasted by what a splendid piece itwas. In that case, I can say that I was taken inimmediately, at first hearing. But it depends onwhich of the Martinů compositions you actuallyencounter. Martinů’s music is really diverse, andthat is an advantage, as well as, as some foreignresearchers have pointed out, a disadvantage. Asfar as the piano works are concerned, many willhum the Three Czech Dances, but they constitutea relatively early work. When you take the Fantasyand Toccata, the Sonata, the concertos, the Etudesand Polkas, they are totally different worlds, albeitconcordant in some respect. In my case, it waslove at first sight, which then slumbered for a whileand awoke fully sometime towards the end of mystudies at the Academy of Performing Arts.

Do you have any special Martinů projectin store in the near future?I will be performing Incantation at the FestivalLe Printemps des Arts in Monte Carlo. This season,I have recorded Piano Concerto No. 5 for the 3-CDset of the complete Martinů piano concertos,which has been released by Radioservis. Themezzo-soprano Markéta Cukrová and I are nowrecording a large portion of Martinů’s vocalcompositions for Czech Radio, including the Songson One Page, the Songs on Two Pages, the NewChap-book, and other miscellaneous songs.

Thank you very much.

martinůrevue32016 | 11

mysterious in some respects”

a different position since they don’t just enjoy themusic. To be more precise – so as to be better ableto enjoy it one day, the interpreter first has to getto know it thoroughly, and that is why I carry outthe analysis. But I really do my best to take intoaccount the emotional-intuitive aspect equally.

I remember that when I was attending the con -servatory, the teachers would keep high lightingthe “musical-historical milestones” relatingto particular Martinů compositions, such as:“By the time he wrote this, Martinů knew thathe would not be able to return to his nativecountry.” Do you deem the biographical data tobe at all instructive or significant for graspinga Martinů work, or can we just con sider themto be something teachers and conductorscustomarily incorporate into their lessons? There is a certain type of composer who reflectswhat he is currently experiencing in his music, andthere are composers whose music does not showsuch a clear connection to biographical events.For my part, I always try to take the biographicalaspect into account, thinking that it may elucidatesomething. But very seldom does it happen thatafter I have read the composer’s biography I findsomething totally different to that which I hadfelt when I let the music act upon me. In theoverwhelming majority of cases, the biographyeither confirms or only extends that which I hadalready thought of the music. A typical Martinůexample in this respect is the Fantasy and Toccata,which he wrote at a highly turbulent period inhis life, after he had emigrated to America, leftEurope, feared the war… At the time, he was veryunbalanced, and it is palpable in the piece. Frommy viewpoint, it is Martinů’s most controversial

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it than during the strictly-led lessons.) How veryhonoured I felt when once, after a class, hedispassionately told me: “You will be contactedby the Prague Philharmonia, you will do a con certfor children.” I think that was when I was in mythird year of the program.

Jiří did not even hesitate to discuss with ussome of his artistic and human dilemmas. At oneof the seminars, he asked our opinion of whatis of greater significance when evaluating anorches tra player: a stable and consistently high,though not quite venerable, creative stan dard, ortalent, owing to which a solo performed by sucha musician turns into an overwhelming, unforget -table experience? Who is more dispen sable forthe ensemble? Such questions may seem to besimple, yet the answer is tricky indeed. Impres -sive, and heart-warming too was (and is) to seehow sheer bliss would wash over Jiří with somerepertoire pieces, while others (including themost celebrated ones) left him utterly cold.Moreover, Jiří is a master of the apposite, laconiccomment, whereas he, I think, really dislikes longspeeches. “Well, it must be performed now andthen,” that is his style of expressing that whichgoes against his grain. The classes with him werealso lessons in emphatic diplomacy.

The mentioned trips abroad were for us, whohad not previously had the opportunity to travelbeyond the borders of our country, akin to beingthrown in the deep end. Although it was probablymore the case that we processed the experiencewithin than manifested it with out, it is always anamazing, positive shock for a young person ven -ture beyond the known (including the language!).Jiří’s support of our activities with student en -sembles was relent less. In my case, this con -cerned the Brno Youth Symphony (whose artisticdirector, Tomáš Krejčí, was also once a studentof Jiří’s) and later on primarily with the PragueStudents Orchestra (led by Prof. Mirko Škampa).And Jiří was there in the auditorium when weplayed at an international festival of youngorchestras at the Konzerthaus in Berlin. For mepersonally, though, all that culminated in Jiří’svehement nod, when I boldly presented my wishto grad uate with Josef Suk’s gigantic Asrael.I would like to imagine how I would haveresponded if I had been in his position, whetherI would have provided as great a support toa student as he did. Not even with a wink of theeye did he indi cate that the task may prove to bea tough nut to crack for a 23-year-old greenhorn.In many respects, the spring of 2004 playeda decisive role in my life. I experienced certainsqualls of a personal nature, great waves ofa revived need for spirituality, and I peeped,

I now know, customary around the world. Whenit comes to the majority of such distinguishedconductors, they only spend a few hours teach -ing at master classes, and undergraduates aretrained by professors, who are more educatorsthan performing artists. I recall how illuminat -ing it was to supplement our more or lesstheoretical knowledge gained at school withattending the rehearsals led by Jiří. He neverforbade anyone to observe any aspect of hisown work. His entirely justified self-confidence

naturally allowed him to make himself poten -tially vulnerable, when some of his studentscould disclose his possible shortcomings,against which, as a teacher, he himself foughtwhen setting the conducting ideal. And, indeed,there were a few who would occasionally makeuse of this opportunity.

Jiří also took his students abroad, where hespent more time than at home. There too wecould observe his everyday work. I recall mystays in Leipzig and Vienna, the preparations foropera productions in Helsinki and Geneva. Whenhe was in Prague, he passionately built up theemerging phenomenon titled the Prague Phil -harmonia. Sometimes he even rejoiced at thesuccess of this “child” of his at the lessons.When he remembered a packed concert hall, hisface suddenly lit up like the sun, and he brokeinto a wide smile: “To the very rafters!” (Witha similar zest, he used to treat us all at theschool café, where we were told even more

MY STUDIES AT THE ACADEMYOF PERFORMING ARTS IN PRAGUE Jiří Bělohlávek was a strict teacher, yet he paidpersonal attention to every one of his students.He required discipline, all his lessons had a form,with constant references to practical perform -ance. Only today am I fully able to appreciatejust how much of his precious time spent inPrague he devoted to us. He always placed

emphasis on the conducting gesture’s func -tional comprehensibility, clarity and – yes! – itsaesthetic aspect, which, he claimed, shouldnever outweigh the approach to the professionas a comprehensive whole. Perhaps it was thereand then, at the Liechtenstein Palace, duringthe conducting lessons, at which Jiří addressedand regarded us not as mere beginners (whichwe truly were) but earnest artists, when some -thing like my life credo started to form: strivefor balance, equilibrium. While the other teach -ers were often single-sided, either too personalor too dogmatic, too benevolent or too aloof,Jiří was able to highlight all the aspects of therequirements placed on the conductor, includingthe officially totally omitted psychologicalfactor. More and more have I grown aware ofhow unique an opportunity it was to constantlywork with such a charismatic figure, a sincereteacher, who at the same time was enduringthe heat of his demanding career. This is not, as

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jakub hrůša on jiří bělohlávek/ part 2

Jakub Hrůša, Concert for Children with the PKF – Prague Philharmonia, 2014

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perhaps for the very first time, into the truedepths of the beauty of music. And, of course,I whipped up my ambitions to the utmost level.I probably finally felt that which is appropriatewhen graduating from an academy of arts. Atthat juncture, the person’s entire future is atstake.

Amidst all this, Jiří was always indispensableto all of us – in the most subtle way possible.We would never hear him saying something like:“This is the way I do it, so you will do it thatway too”, or: “This is the right, the only possible,way”. He repeatedly stressed that we shouldbe able to reason according to the principle“I must know why I feel it this way”. Not tocopy anything, ever. We received – particularlyas regards the initial formation of the conduct -ing gesture – plenty of instructional help.(Hence, the relatively clearly discernible “JiříSchool”.) Yet no smoothing of the path. I couldsay that Jiří navigated us on our journey andoccasionally helped us by giving invaluableadvice in the sometimes difficult identificationof obstacles and their overcoming. He was ourattendant and guide, but he taught us the mostby himself setting an example.

AT THE BEGINNING OF MY CAREER Following the graduation, we remained inscholastic contact for another year, when I hadbegun studying for a doctorate. Even though –viewed retrospectively – I did not progress toomuch in this matter, thanks to Jiří I managedto gain experience abroad, this time on myown. During my postgraduate studies at theUniversität der Künste in Berlin, I realised whata fabulous training we had received back athome in Prague. And I am not sure whethersuch a favourable constellation will ever appearagain. But I would also like to say how quicklyJiří came to understand that I would hardlybecome a sedentary musicologist, and how henever rigidly forced me to take on purely musi -cological assignments, for which I am reallygrateful now.

Finally, a very strange phase emerged: over -night, a student turned into a chief conductor.The change really was this abrupt: at the tenderage of 24, I assumed the post of artistic direc -tor of the Bohuslav Martinů PhilharmonicOrchestra in Zlín. There is no doubt that I willalways recall this tenure as one of the mostwonderful in my life. This is not the right occa -sion to describe it in detail, as my text wouldsuffer in both quantity and stylistic terms (thatis: simply dissolve into emotion), but I would liketo highlight that this time made an impact on

my relationship with Jiří Bělohlávek. When (witha heavy and light heart alike) I interrupted mystudies at the Academy of Performing Arts, andsubsequently terminated them for good, I feltgreatly honoured when, as a colleague, I couldaddress Jiří by his first name, which I continuedto use in our ensuing, ample correspondence.And it was by means of this continuous writtencontact, emails pertaining to every topic underthe sun, that we established and developed ourclose friendship, confirmed at our frequentlyplanned, though seldom materialised, encoun -ters, either purely personal or utterly profes -sional – after all, the two facets simply had toblend together. I particularly recall our critical-musical sessions with the amazing Ivan

Moravec, who, I dare guess, had played in thelife of the young Jiří Bělohlávek a role similarlyessential to that which Jiří had played in mine…In my emails, I always gushed forth my impres -sions from my conducting work, which justa few months previously I had so longed forand done my best to launch, while Jiří repeatedwisely measured recognition of my efforts,ceaselessly encouraging the best that onecan squeeze out (even though it sometimesresulted in a lower degree of diligence, and evenan easing up). With a certain chill, I now per -ceive how wisely Jiří was also able to back downfrom some questions when necessary, bearingin mind that by presenting this or that specificopinion he would inadvertently be depriving mylife of the gradual attainment of true independ -ence. I remember how he remained relativelyaloof in many respects of my personal decision-making, one such example pertaining to thePrague Philharmonia.

Today, I feel great delight in seeing him put -ting across – in an earnest and, so typical ofhim, modest way – one of his major wishes:helping the Czech Philharmonic to becomea top-notch orchestra. When it comes to hisattendance to any institution that has en -trusted him with conducting, he has alwaysshown a venerable traditionalism. His success -ful leadership of the Prague Symphony Orches -tra, the Prague Philharmonia, the BBC Sym -phony Orchestra, as well as his second tenurewith the Czech Philharmonic stand testamentto this. Another trait he has dis played has beena high-principled stance at moments whenthe negotiations about his contract were con -ducted in a manner different to that agreed

or in a way that threatened artistic integrity.Being firm in his approach and his open-mindedconsistency are definitely qualities that trulyimpress me. In addition to his joie de vivre,sense of (laconic) humour, human reliability anddiligence, I personally treasure yet another twobeautiful features: his gentle, inwardly livedpassion, and his love of nature. If I happen topause in astonishment and intoxication at thesheer beauty of a healthy tree or a flower inbloom, if I take immense pleasure in strollingthrough a forest or an open landscape, I amenjoying the gifts for which, in my otherwisequite determined musical (and other) life,a personal compart ment has been opened bynone other than Jiří Bělohlávek. ❚

Glyndebourne, 23 May 2016

Jakub Hrůša is president of InternationalMartinů Circle

martinůrevue32016 | 13

Jiří Bělohlávek and Jaroslava Pěchočová, Bohuslav Martinů Days 2007

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probably not found time enough to respond tothe message of the Belgian impresario. Anotherexplanation is that we never received the com -poser’s letter.7

The previous letter is dated 24 June 1931. Atthat time, Martinů was putting the final toucheson the score of his Concerto for String Quartetand Orchestra, H 207, for an ensem ble equal tothe one in Conrad Beck’s piece. The work seemsto be the result of an informal meet ing betweenthe composer and the mem bers of the Pro ArteQuartet in the French capital, where the quartethad played. The event – repeatedly reported byMiloš Šafránek8 – should have taken place in thevery first months of the year 1931. However, itappears that the list of the Pro Arte’s concertsreveals no perform ance in Paris be tween1 January and 30 June 1931.

It is likely that the Pro Arte had approachedMartinů, who was then part of what has beencalled l’Ecole de Paris.9 L’Ecole included alsoConrad Beck and Alexandre Tansman, who were

composer undertook to give an answer by themonth of June 1931:

May I ask you if you have thought about thecomposition of a work for string quartet andorchestra? In your letter dated 11 November,you kindly indicated that I would receive somenews about this around June. The Pro ArteQuartet has been engaged by the BrusselsPhilharmonic Society, which is pressing us fordetails of the work to be performed. They haveasked that we program Conrad Beck’s quartet(with orchestra) if we are not able to makeanother interesting proposal shortly. I would bevery happy if, at this moment, your work couldbe already advanced enough to allow you toconfirm that the work will be ready for nextseason.5

At the time, Béla Bartók was more concernedabout concerts in Ukraine and the Soviet Union(January 1931). It’s also the period when hisgreatest masterpieces emerged.6 Bartók had

/ ANNE VAN MALDEREN

IN SPRING 1930, Leopold Stokowski and theChicago Symphony Orchestra performed theConcerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (1929)by the Swiss composer Conrad Beck, who wasa friend of Paul Sacher.2 The concert wasattended by American patron Elizabeth SpragueCoolidge, whose father was the founder of theChicago Symphony Orchestra. From the outset,she was seduced by this score, with its quiteoriginal instrumentation in which the Pro ArteQuartet3 played a kind of concertino. The workwas awarded the Coolidge Prize. ElizabethCoolidge, who would be the work’s dedicatee,was really impressed by the performance, anddecided to contact a composer able to writea similar work for her favorite quartet, theBelgian Pro Arte Quartet.

Gaston Verhuyck, the impresario of thePro Arte, approached Béla Bartók, who wasanother friend of Paul Sacher. Verhuyck’s letterof 14 October 1930 reads:

Dear Master, I think I have called your atten tionto the interest in a work for string quartet andorchestra. I am convinced that the Pro ArteQuartet could perform a work by you for all theorchestra societies in the world in less thanthree years. Moreover, from the musical pointof view, the problems raised by the compositionof such a work seem exciting to resolve. I wouldbe very happy to know that my idea is attrac tiveenough to induce you to undertake this work.If so, I would take immediate actions to ensurethe performance of the work as soon as it isready. My efforts will focus especially on Ameri -can orchestras because I am already preparingthe 1931–1932 tour, which will be a bigenterprise.4

A second letter from the impresario to BélaBartók (dated 24 June 1931) reveals the exis -tence of an intermediate message in which the

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As so often in his life, it was by sheer coincidence that he finally stabilized his ideas on the subject. / M. Šafránek1

y Photo of the Hungarian-born conductorGeorges Sébastian (1903–1989)private archives philippe lamury, brussels

y Concert Program given at Prat's Hall (Marseille) by the Pro Arte Quartet and l'Orchestre du Théâtredes Nations. Conducted by Georges Sébastian. March 20, 1932 private archives philippe lamury, brussels

bohuslav martinů andin an amazing juxtaposition: the

both close to the Pro Arte Quartet.10 Thegroup’s inspiration was neoclassical, witha clear return to the old forms. Martinů hada predilection for the concerto grosso asestablished by Arcangelo Corelli.

But our hypothesis is the following: themeet ing between Martinů and the Pro Arte hadprobably taken place at the end of a privateaudition – customary for the Pro Arte – heldat the home of a Parisian patron, Pangalos11,who resided boulevard de Clichy (nearby DariusMilhaud's apartment). This seems to be con -firmed by Prevost’s diary in the Archives of theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison and also byMadeleine Milhaud’s testimony to us duringan interview in Paris.12

One should also know that between Februaryand March 1931, three performances of the

Martinů’s Quartet No. 2, H 150, were pro -grammed by the Pro Arte: in Copenhagen(16 Feb ruary), Brussels (21 March) and Reims(25 March).

The world premiere of the Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, H 207, was tobe held in Marseille on 20 March 1932. GeorgesSébastian13 conducted the Pro Arte Quartetand l’Orchestre du Theatre des Nations (anorchestra of 85 musicians). The concert wasgiven in the Prat’s Hall (Prat being the name ofa well-known family producing the appetizercalled Noilly Prat).

Robert Maas14, in correspondence with hiswife, Julia Gaillard, explains that GermainPrevost (violist of the Pro Arte Quartet) oftenmentions the challenge involved in presentingworks of the ‘avant-garde’ to the public of

Marseille.15 Following the concert, the reviewswere not favorable to Martinů. The followingis a quote of Léon-Camille Maître in Artisticamagazine dated 5 April 1932:

We know the high reputation earned by the‘Pro Arte’ string quartet in the musical world.We have contributed to another triumph of thisremarkable group. If it were not for the factthat we couldn’t really judge the piece they pro -grammed. Fortunately, the ‘bis’ were deliciouspages of Haydn which generated enthusiasticbravos. Indeed, one of my friends suggested:‘This is Haydn’s revenge.’ Why not? B. Mar -tinů’s work, which combined the string quartetas soloist with a large orchestra, was thereforehandicapped, since the author focussed onopposition effects between the two (or more

martinůrevue32016 | 15

Madison WI (May 1939). The Pro Arte Quartet. From left to right: Alphonse Onnou, Laurent Halleux, Robert Maas and Germain Prevostgaston verhuyck collection, mus. ms. 467. (reproduction service of the royal library of belgium)

the pro arte quartetconcerto for string quartet and orchestra / H 207

won dering whether the combination of stringquartet and orchestra is an effective mediumfor the solo group.20

On 12 November 1937, the Concerto wasbroadcast on Radio Tour Eiffel. On the sameday, the work was performed in the hall of theParis Conservatory. Both concerts were per -formed by the Pro Arte Quartet and the BelgianNational Orchestra conducted by Franz André.

In May 1938, the Pro Arte Quartet celebratedits twenty-fifth anniversary. The week-longfestivities at the Palais des Beaux Arts inBrussels were grandiose.21 On 5 May 1938,the Pro Arte performs the Concerto again withthe Belgium National Orchestra conducted byFranz André. A work very similar to the Concertowas pro grammed during the same concert:Ballade for String Quartet and Orchestra of theBelgian composer Marcel Poot.22 The Pro Arte-Coolidge festivities were broadcast live and infull on Belgian National Radio (I.N.R.), the B.B.C.(London) and the N.B.C. (Washington).

A final performance of Concerto by thePro Arte Quartet was programmed in Chicago(Orches tra Hall, Chicago Symphony Orchestrawith Frederick Stock) on 28 March 1939, onceagain alongside Marcel Poot’s Ballade.

you like them or not, have the virtue of beingcomponents of a design that can be readilyappreciated and even admired.17

The same concert was scheduled five dayslater (15 October 1932) in Cardiff at St David'sHall with the same performers.

On 3 December 1932, the Belgian premierewas given in Brussels at the Palais des Beaux-Arts. The Pro Arte Quartet and the OrchestreSymphonique de Paris were conducted byArthur Prevost, the brother of the violistGermain Prevost.

The American premiere took place two weekslater in Boston on 22 December 1932 (BostonSymphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky18). Theconcertino comprised members of the orchestra:Richard Burgin (violin), Robert Gundersen (violin),Jean Le Franc (viola) and Jean Benedetti (cello).

The year 1932 was marked by five perform -ances of the Concerto. The work would beplayed again only in 1936. In the archives ofthe Elizabeth Coolidge Foundation19, we foundan evidence of performance of the Concerto –by the Pro Arte Quartet – in New Brunswick(Canada) on 14 March 1936.

On 8 and 9 April 1936, Carnegie Hall in NewYork hosted the Pro Arte Quartet and the NewYork Symphony Orchestra conducted by HansLange (1884–1960) for a New York premiere.In the New York Herald Tribune dated 10 April,we read the following:

Martinů’s Concerto was introduced to thecountry in December 1932 by the Boston Sym phony Orchestra. Its form, with thejuxtaposition and contrast of a small soloensemble with the orchestra, suggests theclassic concerto grosso and the work is cast inthe traditional three movements of this form.In a first hearing, its gave an impression ofmastery of form and certain amount of inven -tiveness along with certain characteristics whichcan be found in other ably rough works of thelast fifteen years. Such characteristics includerhythmic vigour and iterative contrasts in thetwo rapid movements, a muscular initial themein the first part and busy briskness in the last,with up-to-date while not ultra-left dissonantharmonies and little concession to sentiment;except in the slow movement, where a medita -tive introduction for the solo group gave theexcellent Belgian visitors their best oppor tu nityto display their praise worthy col lec tive qualityof tone. The broadly melodious close also pro -vided some of the most ingratiating meas uresof a work which, for a modern novelty, was verycordially received, although leaving one listener

precisely effects of alternation). On top of this,a fine tuning of sounds was needed, because thequartet of soloists was not equipped to deployforces equal to the tutti of the orches tra. Theproblem is not only there. I devoted myself tothis question for quite some time last year. I hadanticipated an alternative approach, perhapsmore meticulous, but, in any case, moved byanother spirit. B. Martinů did not face the diffi -culty, rather he circumvented it. This resultedin an opus with less character, not very wellbalanced in depth, disappointing my expec -tations, especially for his elegance in avoidingtackling the question head-on… I mention onlythe aggressive writing where the dissonance isused ‘in series’ and so loses its intensity, insteadleaving only an unpleasant feeling that seemsto go on indefinitely with no other purpose thanitself. We know ‘how it is made’. The process isaccessible to everybody. OK, but there is ‘theway of doing’, isn’t it […]? So, one wonders whatcould be the purpose or the scope of such a work(recog nizing interesting but very ephemeralpassages). I can’t answer. I should use the penof a snob.16

A Mozart symphony and some orchestralpieces of Wagner – in the same program –were not able to counterbalance Martinů’s'modernism'.

The public was far more receptive to theConcerto when given in London (Queen’s Hall,Cour tauld-Sargent Concerts) on 10 Octo ber1932 by the Pro Arte and the London SymphonyOrches tra conducted by Malcolm Sargent.This is prob ably why this last perform ancewas long con sid ered the world premiere of thework before the rediscovery of the concert inMarseille. Gary O’Shea, the critic of the MusicalTimes, wrote:

The new work by the Czech composer, Martinů,bore no other title but ‘String Quartet withOrchestra’. It suggests a Concerto Grosso withthe string quartet as concertino. The threemove ments are in character, and their depend -ence upon definite schemes of rhythm adds tothe resem blance. In other respects, the musicis very much of the twentieth century, with itsalmost arith metically calculated dissonances,its many cross-threads and involutions oftexture, its entire occupation with its ownsurface, and its acrid flavor. The first and third movements are of the garrulous kind that say a lot but amount to little. The secondmove ment, however, makes a much strongerimpres sion by sticking to a defi nite idea andexpanding it consistently. Its details, whether

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Program of the two concerts given by the Pro ArteQuartet and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra(Hans Lange, conductor) at Carnegie Hall (New York)on April 8 and 9, 1936private archives thérèse maas, brussels

Miloš Šafránek also mentions a performancein Vienna and another in Los Angeles with PierreMonteux.23 The work was finally played in NewYork in 1942 at Carnegie Hall, with the WQXRQuartet and the National Orchestral Associationunder Léon Barzin. This performance allowedfor the Concerto to be compared with a laterwork: the Double Concerto, H 271 (1938).

More recently, on 26 November 2010, theConcerto was scheduled as part of the festivi -ties of the fiftieth anniversary of the OrchestrePhilharmonique de Liège (Belgium). The per form -ance was conducted by Pierre Bartholomée andthe Ardente Quartet assumed the solo parts.

For Martinů, a Concerto for Quartet and Or -chestra was undoubtedly a tempting challenge.It is probably why he quickly responded to therequest of the Pro Arte and its manager. Theformula was an original and interesting field ofexperimentation. Bartók was perhaps not readyfor this challenge mixing classical form andmodern language. Marseille’s first performancewas long ignored. Despite the mixed feelingsin the reviews that followed, we want to putthings in their right place and highlight theworld premiere, which belongs to Marseille. ❚

(26 September 2016)

BIBLIOGRAPHY— Šafránek, Miloš. Bohuslav Martinů – The Man and His

Music. London, Dennis Dobson Ltd., 1946.— Simon, Robert. Bohuslav Martinů: A Research and

Information Guide. New York and London: RoutledgeMusic Biographies, 2014.

— Van Malderen, Anne. ‘Le Quatuor Pro Arte (1912–1949).’Revue de la Société liégeoise de Musicologie [Online],No.19, 2002, URL: http://popups.ulg.ac.be/1371-6735/index.php?id=477.

— Van Malderen, Anne. ‘Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge(1864–1953). L'histoire d'une fortune personnelleau service de la musique de chamber.’ Revue belgede Musicologie, Brussels, vol. 58 (2004): 233–250.

— Van Malderen, Anne. ‘From Dolhain-Limbourg to theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison. Birth and Centenaryof a Quartet.’ In Voces Intimae. The String Quartetencounters Art and Literature, ed. D. Huybrechts,F. Huybrechts and M. Sladden. Tournai:Wapica/Proquartetto, 2013: 65–74.

— Van Malderen, Anne. Historique et réception des diversesformations Pro Arte (1912–1947). Apport au répertoire dela musique contemporaine, PhD Thesis. Belgium: UCL,2012. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/114941

1 Miloš Šafránek, Bohuslav Martinů – The Man and His Music(London, Dennis Dobson Ltd., 1946), 42.

2 Kurt von Fischer and Fritz Muggler, “Conrad Beck” in TheNew Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. StanleySadie and John Tyrell (London: Macmillan, 2002), II: 332.

3 Founded in 1913, the Pro Arte Quartet immigrated tothe United States in May 1940 where it was appointedquartet in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following the departure of its founders, theBelgian musicians were succeeded by Americans. InMarch 2013, the University of Wisconsin celebrated thecentenary of the quartet.

4 Letter from Gaston Verhuyck to Béla Bartók, 14 October1930 (Gaston Verhuyck Collection, MUS. MS. 467/I., RoyalLibrary of Belgium). All translations of original documentsinto English are made by the author unless otherwisenoted.

5 Letter from Gaston Verhuyck to Béla Bartók, 24 June1931 (Gaston Verhuyck Collection, MUS. MS. 467/I.,Royal Library of Belgium).

6 Beginning 1931, Bartók completed the composition ofhis Second Concerto for piano and orchestra and wasfocusing on a commission from Paul Sacher (Music forStrings, Percussion and Celesta).

7 According to Yves Lenoir (a Belgian specialist of Bartókand the author’s PhD supervisor), letters that are notincluded in the Gaston Verhuyck Collection, if they exist,can only be found in the Bartók Archives in Budapest.

8 Šafránek, The Man and His Music, 42.9 The members of l’Ecole de Paris were meeting together

at Café du Dôme on boulevard Montparnasse.10 L’Ecole de Paris included the following members: Conrad

Beck (3 performances), Alfredo Casella (23 perform -ances), Bohuslav Martinů (29 performances), VittorioRieti (39 performances), Alexandre Tansman (4 perform -ances) and Alexandre Tcherepnine (1 performance).

11 Germain Prevost mentions auditions of the Pro Arteorganized at the residence of Pangalos on 29 Januaryand 8 April 1931. (Prevost’s Diary, University ofWisconsin-Madison Division of Archives: Pro Arte Quartet,1926–1947.)

12 Private conversation with Madeleine Milhaud (Paris),4 February 2000. Darius Milhaud and Mr. Pangalos livedboth Boulevard de Clichy (at number 10 and number 62respectively).

13 The Hungarian form of his name is Győrgy Sebestyén. 14 Cellist of the Pro Arte Quartet. 15 The same problem occurred before with Beethoven’s

Grande Fugue op. 130. This score was probably too‘modern’ for the audience in Marseille. “The two concerts,here in Cannes, worked well. But little audience. This is nota city to give Beethoven’s quartets. This is not the kind ofmusic appreciated by the public. It will probably be betterin Marseille. However, I express serious doubts.” (Letterof 5 January 1939 from Robert Maas to Julia Gaillard,private archives of Thérèse Maas)

16 Léon-Camille Maître, ‘Feuilleton Musical’, in Artistica,5 April 1932, p. 1.

17 Review taken again in the program of the Chicagoconcert of 28 March 1939 (Orchestra Hall, ChicagoSymphony Orchestra, Frederick Stock). Private Archivesof Thérèse Maas (Brussels).

18 Martinů had close ties with Serge Koussevitzky. Thecon ductor was to play a role in the first performanceof several works of the composer: La Bagarre, H 155,in November 1927 and the Concerto da Camera, H 285,in 1941.

19 Library of Congress, Coolidge Foundation (WashingtonD.C.), Files ’Pro Arte Concerts’.

20 [Not identified] ‘Philharmonic Plays Purcell’s Music of1680’, in The New York Herald Tribune, 10 April, 1936, p. 1.Gaston Verhuyck Collection, Mus. Ms. 467. C. VII.

21 May 1938 is also the anniversary of the constructionof Henry Lebœuf’s Hall (Grande Salle Henry Lebœuf).Bohuslav Martinů’s and Marcel Poot’s works were playedat the occasion of a posthumous homage to the Belgianpatron.

22 Marcel Poot (1901–1980) was part of Les Synthétistes,the Belgian equivalent of the Les Six. Their inspirationwas partly neoclassical.

23 Šafránek, The Man and His Music, 43

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Concert program given by the Pro Arte Quartet and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Frederick Stock, conductor) at Orchestra Hall in Chicago on March 28, 1939private archives paul coninx, namur

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away, not the life of the lead female character.In Tomáš Netopil’s hands, however, it does notsound like a mockery, encapsulating ratherMartinů’s typical aloofness, which in fact addsan alluring flavour to the opera. The role ofAriane is sung by Simona Šaturová with a simi -lar aloofness, as well as drama and elegance.The part requires both a coloratura anda character soprano, and although it is notprimarily written to impress (although it doescontain a few typically coloratura passages), itmakes great demands in terms of phrasing andthus can mercilessly expose any of the singer’stechnical insufficiencies. In this respect, I mustsay that I simply cannot imagine that any otherCzech or Slovak singer could have performedthe role of Ariane better than Mrs. Šaturová,who delivers it effortlessly and with greattechnical bravado. Outstanding, too, are theother singers, particularly the Romanian bass-baritone Zoltán Nagy, a pliant and sonicallydelicious Thésée. An amusing anomaly in thisperformance is to be heard in a few phrases ofthe male ensemble where total rhythmic andmelodic confusion bear testimony to the liverecording…

It would seem outrageous to refer to Mar -tinů’s Double Concerto for Two String Or ches -tras, Piano and Timpani, H 271, as a supplementof any sort, yet in this case the word is appo -site. Both Supraphon and Tomáš Netopil, whoiniti ated the album, emphasise that the mainintention here was to record Ariane, which thedisc clearly showcases. Nonetheless, the DoubleConcerto, recorded by the Essener Philhar -moniker and Ivo Kahánek, is definitely worthyof attentive listening. It may, however, happenthat you simply won’t get round to it – you maywell find yourself playing Ariane over and overagain, abandoning it with an even heavier heartthan Thésée did Ariane.

MICHAELA VOSTŘELOVÁ

RATING: Harmonie’s Choice – Special Editor’s Choice

Reprinted from Harmonie music magazine,No. 10/2016, with their kind permission

mann, conducting the Czech Philharmonic, withsoloists Celine Lindsey, Richard Novák andMiroslav Kopp. The performance is fabulous,romantic, the singers are splendid (with the onlycaveat being the bad French of some of them,which simply wouldn’t be tolerated today).Almost 30 years down the road, a new albumhas come out – a live recording of a perform -ance of Ariane made by the Essener Philhar -moniker, headed by Tomáš Netopil, who alsoconducted the most recent presentation ofthe opera at the National Theatre in Prague,in 2010. Owing to the lack of funding, this per -form ance involved only a concert version ofthe work.

In Netopil’s hands, Martinů’s inspired scorepossesses drive and lightness, the vigour ofsharp transitions, while the expression is morerestrained than that of Neumann’s, thus beingcloser to the composer’s aesthetics. The musicdoes not hover so much in Romantic arcs, withNetopil respecting the structure of the self-contained numbers, accentuating the dividinglines of the individual passages and savouringthe contrasts that permeate the score. A primeexample is that which follows Ariane’s lament,the opera’s one and only aria, which forms onequarter of the piece and in which the mytho -logical heroine gracefully bids farewell to herlife: “And if I have to die, I will die happy, as theone I loved was King Theseus.” Afterwards,Martinů returns to the playful motif of theintroductory Sinfonia, taken over by theglockenspiel (!). It comes across as thougha dance of two porcelain elephants were fading

Simona Šaturová (Soprano) Zoltán Nagy (Baritone) Baurzhan Anderzhanov (Bass) Abdellah Lasri (Tenor) Tijl Faveyts (Bass) Theater Essen Choir SoloistsIvo Kahánek (Piano) Essener PhilharmonikerTomáš Netopil (Conductor) Text: English, German, French, CzechRecorded: 2014, 2015, Alfred Krupp Saal, EssenReleased: 2016TT: 66:00. 1 CD, Supraphon SU 4205-2

“YOU ARE THE IMAGE of my happiness and thathappiness will kill you.” These words in GeorgesNeveux’s play Le Voyage de Thésée can yieldseveral levels: a love drama, a mythologicalpremonition, a surrealistic shortcut. Similarly,and in less than three-quarters of an hour,Bohuslav Martinů’s Ariane, H 370, with its play -fulness and lack of complexity, gracefully servesup to listeners everything they could expectfrom an opera. A mystical touch of death anda struggle for life, as well as against oneself;a mystery of the beginning of a love affair andthe inevitabil ity of its end; the lament of theabandoned heroine – and all that wrapped ina Neo-Classi cal package, at every turn clearlyrevealing Martinů at the peak of his invention.

In the summer of 1958, amidst demandingwork on the opera The Greek Passion, Martinů,as he himself put it, took a break by composingthe one-act Ariane, to which he wrote thelibretto, based on Georges Neveux’s play. Thecomposer had previously, in the 1930s, madeuse of a subject of the French author in hissurrealistic opera Juliette. This time, Martinůreached for Neveux’s singular treatment of themyth of Ariadne on Naxos. In Neveux’s drama,while fighting the Minotaur, Theseus realisesthat he is facing his alter ego, which has yieldedto love for a woman. This approach to theancient Greek myth intrigued Martinů and hisplay with the human psyche.

Amidst competition with Martinů’s greaterand more significant operas, Ariane has, to date,been rather overlooked. In 1987, Supraphonreleased a recording (which was re-releasedin 2000), featuring an account by Václav Neu -

bohuslav martinů ariane

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/ DAVID CHALOUPKA

Bohuslav Martinů’s Mirandolina, H 346, (com -posed in 1953 and 1954, premiered in 1959 inPrague) was the main opera attraction in Venicethis July. It was staged in the beautiful TeatroLa Fenice, one of the premier opera housesin Italy. The run of five performances tookplace between 1 and 14 July 2016 and was

conducted by John Axelrod, a former pupil ofLeonard Bernstein.

In 2014, John Axelrod was appointed artisticand music director of the Real Orquesta Sin -fónica de Sevilla. He has conducted numerousorchestral concerts and, as a guest conductor,he has devoted his artistic powers to opera aswell. He has prepared operatic works for thefestival in Lucerne on several occasions. Inrecent years, he has directed opera perform -ances in Italy: in Naples, Rome, Florence andat the festival in Spoleto. In addition to hisengagement with the regular symphony reper -toire, he has specialised in 20th-century music,giving world premieres of a number of works bycontemporary composers (Kilar, Saariaho, FazilSay, and others).

The Mirandolina production at the TeatroLa Fenice was directed by Gianmaria Aliverta,who during the previous season had staged anintriguing evening there comprising Poulenc’s

La Voix humaine and Janáček’s The Diary of theOne Who Disappeared, with the latter performedas a scenic ballade. The sets for Mirandolinawere designed by Italy’s Massimo Checchetto,while the costumes were created by CarlosTieppo, who has regularly worked with theVenice theatre over the past four years. Theopera’s story was transferred to the presentday (with corresponding costumes) and set ina sort of modern wellness centre at a largehotel, providing jacuzzis, massages, sun lampsand other services.

Amidst the simple, basically geometrical sets,the majority of the male performers were cladin bathrobes or swimming trunks. The title rolewas portrayed by the Italian soprano SilviaFrigato, who in the autumn of 2015 appeared inPrague in Marian Vespers, conducted by VáclavLuks. She has focused primarily on early music,with the roles including Amore in Monteverdi’sL'incoronazione di Poppea (also at the Teatro alla

Scalla), Amore in Gluck’sOrfeo ed Euridice, the titlerole in Peri’s Euridice (oneof the oldest operas pre -served), and Silvia inHaydn’s L’isola disabitata.The waiter Fabrizio, whomthe innkeeper finally mar -ries, was sung by the Italiantenor Leonardo Cortelazzi,who in the La Scala pro -duction of L'incorona zionedi Poppea enacts Nero andwho has performed a widelyrical tenor reper toire onstages in Italy and France(Don Ottavio, Tamino,Nemorino, Fenton, etc.).The other roles in the Venice

Mirandolina were also assigned to first-rateItalian singers, all possessing excellent actingabilities.

The opera performance, above all, affordsgreat opportunities for artists with skills incharacterization and a comic gift. And whereelse if not Italy should this merry and musicallyenthralling piece be staged? After all, whencomposing Mirandolina to his own libretto basedon Carlo Goldoni’s popular comedy La Locan -diera, Martinů bore in mind the sheer singabilityof the Italian language. The subsequent Czechtranslation, used at the world premiere inPrague, was rather necessitated by the prac ti -cal constraints and the contemporary customson Czech stages. The production at the TeatroLa Fenice was, naturally, performed to theoriginal Italian libretto, with Italian and Englishsurtitles. ❚

The article is reprinted from the internet portalwww.operaplus.cz with their kind permission.

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