(Chamber music occupies a significant place in the vast ou...)
Chamber music occupies a significant place in the vast output of Bohuslav Martinu. His First Piano Quintet, written in 1933, a period during which Martinu renewed his interest in the folk-lore and traditional music of his nativ
(The style of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu was enri...)
The style of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu was enriched by numerous influences which are reflected in The Greek Passion: magnificent choirs contrast vividly with intimate chamber music, folkloristic elements are placed next to complex, classically worked-out orchestral movements. A highly emotional mixture of oratorio and dramatic opera abducts the lsitener/spectator into a world in which catastrophes abound. Lorenzo Fioroni, who has directed operas in Nuremberg, Augsburg and Heidelberg, has produced this dramatic contest against fear in Graz.
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Bohemian composer Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) was exce...)
Bohemian composer Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) was exceptionally prolific, composing over 400 imaginative, well-crafted, and diverse pieces, including symphonies, operas, ballet scores, and other orchestral works. For 12 years (1941-1953), he lived in America, during which he enjoyed a brilliant reputation, and his works were played by nearly all the major orchestras. Yet today, his works are rarely performed.
In
Bohuslav Martinu: The Compulsion to Compose
, F. James Rybka provides a documented explanation for Martinu's amazing output: he had Asperger syndrome. Indeed, Martinu is believed to be the first composer ever to be documented, albeit retrospectively, with an autistic spectrum disorder. In this unique biography, Rybka follows Martinu's life from his birth in Policka, Bohemia to his composition studies with Albert Roussel, his escape from Nazis, and his rise as an internationally recognized composer with premieres of his works in Boston, Prague, London, and Basel.
As Rybka explains how the dynamics of Asperger Syndrome affected the composer's work, readers will more fully appreciate Martinu's accomplishments and legacy. Containing important letters and photographs, this book will inspire and inform those impacted by autism but will also be of interest to music scholars and students alike.
He was born in the tower of the St. Jakub Church in Polička, a town in Bohemia, close to the Moravian border (now Czech Republic). Bohuslav Martinu was the son of a small-town shoemaker who was also the custodian of a church tower used as a fire-lookout station.
Education
Violin lessons from a village teacher revealed his strong musical aptitude, and when he was 16 he went to Prague to attend the conservatory. He did not respond well to the rigid training and was soon expelled.
Realizing that he needed more formal training in composition, he returned to the conservatory to study with Josef Suk. He became a pupil of Albert Roussel, whose economical but vigorous scores he admired.
Career
In spite of his failure at the conservatory, Martinu became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he held from 1913 to 1923, except for the war years (1914 - 1918), when he returned to his native village. His early works include the Czech Rhapsody (1920) and the ballet Istar (1922).
With the aid of a government grant Martinu went to Paris in 1923, where he lived for the next 17 years. Martinu lived in the simplest manner, making his living by teaching a few private pupils and from the commissions he received from time to time.
Important compositions of this era are Half-time (1925), inspired by a soccer game, and La Bagarre (1926; Tumult), dedicated to Charles Lindbergh, who had just made his flight to Paris. Serge Koussevitsky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, introduced Martinu's music to the United States.
During the Paris years Martinu did not lose contact with Czechoslovakia. He wrote a folk ballet called Spalicek (1931), a kind of variety show of sketches from Czech life; The Miracle of Our Lady (1933), a medievalstyle miracle play; and the opera Juliette (1938). The major work of this period is his Double Concerto (1938), a powerful work expressing his feelings just before World War II and the imminent downfall of his country.
With the outbreak of war Martinu went to the United States, where he remained until 1953. He taught at the Berkshire Summer School and at Princeton University. Works of the American period include a Symphony (1942), a Violin Concerto (1943), and a Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1943).
Martinu lived in Rome from 1953 to 1955, where he wrote Fresques de Piero della Francesca for orchestra, the opera Mirandolina, and his Sixth Symphony. He completed his twelfth and last opera, based on Nikos Kazantzakis's Greek Passion Play, shortly before his death in Switzerland. Martinu's music was in no sense reactionary, but at the same time it was never blatantly "modern" or "experimental. " It is characterized by the freedom of its melodies, perhaps influenced by Czech inflections, the vigor of its rhythms, and the transparency of its textures. He favored concerto grosso - like structures, contrapuntal and continuous, over sonata forms, and he avoided sentimentality and dramatic effects.
Martinů was quiet, introverted, and emotionally stolid when meeting persons he did not know well. He typically answered questions very slowly, even when conversing in his native Czech. He might fail to reciprocate socially when people would compliment his music, or do favors for him. Close friends found him to be a kind, gentle, self-effacing, unbiased person.
Quotes from others about the person
Olin Downes: "Martinu is incapable of an unthorough or conscienceless job. He works very hard, systematically, scrupulously, modestly. He produces so much music because in the first place, his nature necessitates this. He has to write music. In the second place, he knows his business and loves it. "
Connections
In 1926, Martinů met Charlotte Quennehen (1894–1978), a French seamstress from Picardy. They married in 1931. She would become an important force in his life, handling the cuisine and business matters that he found trying.
In 1937, Martinů became acquainted with a young Czech woman, Vítězslava Kaprálová. Their relationship soon developed beyond that of student-teacher as he fell madly in love with her. He proposed that he would divorce Charlotte and then take her to America.