Bohuslav Martinů - Piano Music Vol. 4 (Giorgio Koukl)

Information

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů

• 7 Czech Dances 'Borová', H. 195
• Les ritournelles, H. 227
• A Note in a Scrapbook No. 1, H. 222
• Improvisation, H. 333
• Dumka No. 2 'Elégie', H. 250
• Adagio 'In memoriam', H. 362
• For Dancing, H. 158
• A Note in a Scrapbook [No. 2], H. 241
• Dumka No. 1 'Contemplation', H. 249
• Bagatelle 'Morceau facile', H. 323
• Rujana, H. 100
• Barcarolle, H. 326
• Dumka No. 3, H. 285bis
• 4 Mouvements, H. 170
• Prelude No. 1 'on the theme of Marseillaise', H. 85
• Prelude No. 2 in F minor, H. 86
• Instructive Duo for the Nervous, H. 145
• Procession of the Cats on Solstice Night, H. 122
• Piece for the Little Evas, H. 242
• Mazurka 'Hommage to Paderewski', H. 284
• Par T.S.F (On T.S.F Waves), H. 173bis
• Scherzo, H. 138bis
• [untitled], H. 141
• Prelude, H. 140

Giorgio Koukl, piano

Date: 2007

Label: Naxos

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Review

As the 50th anniversary of Martin≤’s death (in 1959) approaches, manuscripts – usually of small items or sketches previously thought lost or mislaid – continue to come to light, so, with the Seven Czech Dances (1930) and Les ritournelles (1932) omitted from Vols 1‑3, enough material existed for Naxos to trump Leichner’s Supraphon survey (nla) with this fascinating further disc without needing to raid his juvenilia. Seven pieces here receive world premiere recordings, notably three Preludes: No 1 “on the theme of the Marseillaise” and No 2 in F minor pre-date the Great War but the unnumbered Prelude, H140 (which concludes the disc), dates from 1924. As might be imagined they are relatively insubstantial, unlike the splendid marine fantasy Rujana (1915), a musical portrait of the German island resort of Rügen, which at 5'23" is the longest single track on offer. The other novelties are A Note in a Scrapbook No 1, For Dancing and Piece for the Little Evas, trifles of around a minute in length which date variously to the late 1920s and ’30s.

Some items, such as the Improvisation, Bagatelle Morceau facile (1949) and Instructive Duo for the Nervous (c1927) are tiny indeed, playing for under 50". The whimsicality of the title for the last of these is echoed in another delightful miniature, Procession of the Cats on Solstice Night (1919), the inspiration for which came from folklore. Koukl’s performances are a delight throughout, strong in the larger sets of Czech Dances and Les ritournelles as well as the unfamiliar Quatre mouvements – about which nothing is stated in the notes – and the three Dumky. Excellent sound, too.

— 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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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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