Bohuslav Martinů - Piano Music Vol. 1 (Giorgio Koukl)

Information

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů

• 8 Preludes, H. 181
• Fenêtre sur le jardin, H. 270
• Fables, H. 138
• 3 Sketches, H. 160
• Le Noël, H. 167
• Dance Sketches, H. 220
• Foxtrot, H. 126

Giorgio Koukl, piano

Date: 2006

Label: Naxos

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Review

Most of the short cycles featured on the first volume in Naxos’ complete Martinu piano music survey represent the composer’s early style, where French effervescence, the Czech speech patterns of Janácek, and American jazz idioms delightfully collide. They’re also pianistically effective and deserve more serious attention among young pianists looking to build interesting programs. Like his one-time teacher Rudolf Firkusny, pianist Giorgio Koukl always channels his considerable technique toward putting Martinu’s message first. For example, a greenhorn virtuoso might easily be tempted to make the churning textures and motoric drive characterizing the Allegro vivo third movement of the Esquisses de Danses into a flashy toccata. However, Koukl’s steady moderation allows the melodies to truly sing–and even dance. His supple and debonair performances of the eight jazz-inspired Preludes favorably compare to Emil Leichner’s relatively drier, leaner ones on Supraphon. Perhaps Leichner imbues Window on the Garden’s more lyrical moments with a little more breathing room and tender inflection, but there’s much to be said for Koukl’s warmer, more colorful sonority, with upgraded sonics to match. Needless to say, I look forward to further volumes.

— Jed Distler

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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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Giorgio Koukl (born 1953 in Prague) is a pianist and composer. He studied in Prague, Zürich and Milan; among his teachers was Rudolf Firkušný, who introduced him to the works Bohuslav Martinů. Koukl became a leading interpreter of Martinů's piano music, recording his complete piano solo works and concertos. He later expanded his repertoire to include piano works by composers like Le Flem, Tcherepnin, Lourié, Kaprálová, Lutosławski, Tansman and Harsányi. Performing internationally across Europe, North America and Asia, Koukl records exclusively for Naxos and appears frequently in solo and chamber concerts.

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