Bohuslav Martinů - Music for Violin and Orchestra Vol. 1 (Matoušek; Hogwood)

Information

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů

• Concerto for flute, violin and orchestra, H 252
• Duo concertante for two violins and orchestra, H 264
• Concerto for two violins and orchestra in D major, H 329

Bohuslav Matoušek, violin

Janne Thomsen, flute

Régis Pasquier, violin

Jennifer Koh, violin

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Christopher Hogwood, conductor

Date: 2007

Label: Hyperion

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Review

At the 2003 Martinu Festival in Prague I had the good fortune to hear Bohuslav Matousek and Jennifer Koh give a spirited account of the highly enjoyable Duo concertante (1937) with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Written in Martinu’s best 1930s concerto grosso style, its three movements (fast-slow-fast) are limpidly scored, allowing the flowing, interweaving lines of the soloists to sound to best advantage; as the excellent booklet-notes say, “an extraordinary musical experience”.

For this equally vibrant recording, Régis Pasquier partners Matousek while Koh appears with Matousek in the Concerto in D major (1950). Unlike its predecessor, the later work is in the standard 19th-century concerto format – one reason why Martinu did not number the works – and structurally quite different. For one thing, there is no real slow movement, the central span (dovetailed into the finale) being moderate in pace with a più vivo central section. In atmosphere it is one of those fleet-footed yet serene works in which Martinu’s inspiration seems just to beam from ear to ear.

This first volume, in what will be a series of four devoted to Martinu’s concertante works for violin, is completed by another enchanting early double concerto, for flute and violin, penned in just 10 days in 1936. There is no hint of rush in its fresh and lively invention, the solo roles played with beguiling ease by Janne Thomsen and Matousek. Accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic – in whose second violin section the composer played in the 1920s – this disc is an utter delight from start to finish.

— Guy Rickards

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Bohuslav Martinů (December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He was a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. Martinů was a prolific composer who wrote almost 400 pieces. Many of his works are regularly performed or recorded, among them his oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh, his six symphonies, concertos, chamber music, a flute sonata, a clarinet sonatina and many others. Martinů's notable students include Alan Hovhaness, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Jan Novák and many others.

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Bohuslav Matoušek (born 26 September 1949) is a Czech violinist and violist. He studied at Prague's Academy of Music and with Arthur Grumiaux, Nathan Milstein and Wolfgang Schneiderhan. After winning first prize at the 1972 Prague Spring Competition, he became leader of Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. From 1980 to 1995, he led and recorded extensively with the Stamic Quartet. Since 1995, he has focused more on solo and chamber music, notably collaborating with pianist Petr Adamec. Their recordings of Martinu’s works earned critical acclaim and a Cannes Classical Award in 2001.

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Christopher Hogwood (10 September 1941 – 24 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, and musicologist known for his work in historically informed performance. He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge and trained by noted musicians such as Raymond Leppard, Gustav Leonhardt and Zuzana Růžičková. In 1973 he founded the Academy of Ancient Music which became renowned for performing Baroque and Classical music on period instruments. Hogwood also explored Romantic and modern repertoire, especially neobaroque and neoclassical works by Stravinsky, Martinů, and Hindemith.

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