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Image:Martinu.jpgBohuslav Martinů ([ˈbɔɦuslaf ˈmarcinu:] (help·info); December 8, 1890—August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer.

Contents 1 Life 2 Music 3 In his own words 4 Works 4.1 Operas 4.2 Ballets 4.3 Orchestral 4.4 Concertante 4.5 Vocal 4.6 Chamber 4.7 Instrumental 4.8 Piano 5 External links

[edit] Life

Martinů was born in a bell tower in Polička, Bohemia, where his father (a shoemaker by trade) was a watchman. As a child he developed a local reputation, giving his first public concert in his hometown in 1905. In 1906 he became a violin student at the Prague Conservatory, where he studied briefly before being dismissed for "incorrigible negligence"^{[citation needed]}. He continued his studies on his own.

He spent the First World War in his home town as a teacher, where he pursued his interests in composition. He also joined the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as a violinist. His ballet Istar was completed in 1922. He left Czechoslovakia for Paris in 1923, where he became a pupil of Albert Roussel, though he retained many links with his birthplace. When the German army approached Paris early in the Second World War, he fled, first to the south of France, and then to the United States in 1941, where he settled in New York with his French wife.

Martinů spent his later years in Switzerland, never returning to his homeland.^{[citation needed]} He died in Liestal on August 28, 1959.

[edit] Music

Martinů was a very prolific composer, writing almost 400 pieces. Many of his works are regularly performed or recorded, among them his choral work, The Epic of Gilgamesh (1955); his symphonies, a consistently fine modern cycle of six; his concertos, including those for cello, violin, oboe and five for the piano; his anti-war opera Comedy on the Bridge; and his chamber music, including seven string quartets and a flute sonata.

His music displays a wide variety of influences: works such as La Revue de Cuisine (1927) are heavily influenced by jazz, while the Double Concerto for two string orchestras, piano and timpani (1938) is one of many works to show the influence of the Baroque concerto grosso. Other works are influenced by Czech folk music. He also admired the music of Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky, among other composers.^{[citation needed]}

A characteristic feature of his orchestral writing is the near-omnipresent piano; most of his orchestral works include a prominent part for piano, including his small concerto for harpsichord and chamber orchestra. The bulk of his writing from the 1930s into the 1950s was in a neoclassical vein, but with his last works he opened up his style to include more rhapsodic gestures and a looser, more spontaneous sense of form. This is easiest to hear by comparing his sixth symphony, tellingly titled Fantaisies symphoniques, with previous efforts from the 1940s.

One of Martinů's lesser known works is a piece featuring the theremin commissioned by Lucie Bigelow Rosen. Martinů started working on this commission in the summer of 1944 and finished his Fantasia for theremin, oboe, string quartet and piano on October 1, dedicating it to Rosen, who premiered the piece as theremin soloist in New York on November 3, 1945, along with the Koutzen Quartet and Robert Boom.

[edit] In his own words

The artist is always searching for the meaning of life, his own and that of mankind, searching for truth. A system of uncertainty has entered our daily life. The pressures of mechanisation and uniformity to which it is subject call for protest and the artist has only one means of expressing this, by music.

- Bohuslav Martinů

[edit] Works

[edit] Operas

• Voják a tanečnice (Soldier and Dancer), comic opera in three acts (1927 Polička)
• Larmes de couteau (Tears of the Knife), opera in one act (1928 Paris)
• Les Trois Souhaits our Les vicissitudes de la vie (Three Wishes or Inconstancy of the Life), film-opera in 3 acts with prelude and postlude (1929 Paris)
• Der Wohltätigkeitstag (Day of Kindness), opera in three acts (1931 Paris)
• Hry o Marii (The Miracles of Mary) (1934 Paris)
• Hlas lesa (The Voice of the Forest), radio-opera in 1 act (1935 Paris)
• Veselohra na mostě (Comedy on the Bridge), radio-opera in 1 act (1935 Paris)
• Divadlo za branou (Theatre Behind the Gate), opera-ballet in 3 acts (1936 Paris)
• Julietta (Snář) (Julietta (The key to Dreams)), lyric opera in 3 acts (1937 Paris)
• Dvakrát Alexandr (Alexandre Bis), opera buffa in 1 act (1937 Paris)
• What Men Live By, opera-pastorale in 1 act (1952 New York)
• The Marriage, Comic Opera in 2 Acts (1952 New York)
• Plainte contre inconnu (Accusation Against the Unknown), Opera in 3 Acts (1953 Nice)
• Mirandolina, comic opera in 3 acts (1953 Nice)
• Arianne, lyric opera in 1 act (1958 Schönenberg-Pratteln)
• The Greek Passion, Opera in 4 Acts (1957, 2nd version 1959)

[edit] Ballets

• Noc (Night), ballet in 1 act (1914 Polička)
• Tance se závoji (Dances with a Veils), meloplastic dance scenes (1914 Polička)
• Stín (The Shadow), ballet in 1 act (1916 Polička)
• Koleda (Christmas Carol), ballet in 4 acts with singing, dancing and recitation (1917 Polička)
• Istar, ballet in 3 acts (1921 Polička, Prague)
• Kdo je na světě nejmocnější? (Who is the Most Powerful in the World?), ballet comedy in 1 act (1922 Prague)
• Vzpoura (The Revolt), ballet sketch in 1 act (1925 Paris, Prague)
• Motýl, který dupal (The Butterfly that Stamped), ballet in 1 act (1926 Paris)
• Le Raid merveilleux (The Amazing Flight), a mechanical ballet (1927 Paris)
• La Revue de Cuisine (The Kitchen Revue), jazz-ballet in 1 act (1927 Paris)
• On Tourne, ballet in 1 act (1927 Polička)
• Check to the King, jazz-ballet in 2 act (1930 Paris)
• Špalíček (The Chap-Book), ballet with singing in 3 acts (1932 Paris)
• Le jugement de Paris (The judgement of Paris), ballet in 1 act (1935 Paris)
• The Strangler, ballet for three dancers (1948 New York)

[edit] Orchestral

• Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 1 (1942)
  • Symphony No. 2 (1943 Darien, Conn.)
  • Symphony No. 3 (1944 Ridgefield, Conn.)
  • Symphony No. 4 (1945 New York)
  • Symphony No. 5 (1946 New York)
  • Symphony No. 6 Fantaisies symphoniques (1953 New York, Paris)
• Half-time, rondo for large orchestra (1924 Polička)
• Sinfonia Concertante for Two Orchestras (1932 Paris)
• Concerto Grosso, for chamber orchestra (1937 Paris)
• Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani (1938 Vieux Moulin, Schönenberg)
• Thunderbolt P-47, scherzo for orchestra (1945 Cape Cod)
• Toccata e Due Canzoni (1946 New York)
• The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca (1955 Nice)
• The Parables (1958 Rome, Schönenberg)
• Estampes (1958 Schönenberg)

[edit] Concertante

• Piano
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 (1925 Polička)
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 (1934 Paris)
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 (1948 New York)
  • Piano Concerto No. 4 Incantations (1956 New York)
  • Piano Concerto No. 5 Fantasia concertante in B flat major (1958 Schönenberg)
  • Divertimento in G, a concertino for piano left-hand and small orchestra (1926, 1928 Paris)
  • Piano Concertino (1938, Paris)
  • Sinfonietta Giocosa, for piano and chamber orchestra (1940 Aix-en-Provence)
  • Concerto for Two Pianos and String Orchestra (1943 New York)
  • Sinfonietta La Jolla, for piano and chamber orchestra in A major (1950 New York)

• Violin
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 (1933 Paris)
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 (1943 New York)
  • Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra in D (1950 New York)
  • Suite Concertante for Violin and Orchestra in A major (year unkn. Paris, 2nd version 1944 New York)
  • Concerto da Camera, for violin and string orchestra with piano and percussion (1941 Edgartown, Mass.)

• Viola
  • Rhapsody Concerto, for viola and orchestra (1952 New York)

• Cello
  • Cello Concerto No. 1 (1930 Polička, 1939 Paris, 1955 Nice)
  • Cello Concerto No. 2 (1945 New York)

• Harpsichord Concerto, for harpsichord and small orchestra (1935 Paris)

• Oboe Concerto (Nice 1955)

• Multiple Instruments
  • Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (1931 Paris)
  • Concertino for Piano Trio and String Orchestra (1933 Paris)
  • Concerto for Flute, Violin and Orchestra (1936 Paris)
  • Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello, Oboe, Bassoon, Orchestra and Piano (1949 New York)
  • Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Orchestra (1953 New York)

[edit] Vocal

• Polní mše (Field Mass), cantata for baritone, male chorus and orchestra (1939 Paris)
• Gilgameš (The Epic of Gilgamesh), cantata for soli, mixed chorus and orchestra (1955 Nice)
• Otvírání studánek (The Opening of the Springs), cantata for soli, female chorus and instrumental accompaniment (1955 Nice)
• Legenda z dýmu bramborové nati (Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires), cantata for soli, mixed chorus and instrumental accompaniment (1956 Rome)
• Romance z pampelišek (The Romance of the Dandelions), cantata for mixed chorus a cappella and soprano solo (1957 Rome)

[edit] Chamber

• String Quartets
  • String Quartet No. 1 (1918 Polička)
  • String Quartet No. 2 (1925 Paris)
  • String Quartet No. 3 (1929 Paris)
  • String Quartet No. 4 (1937 Paris)
  • String Quartet No. 5 (1938 Paris)
  • String Quartet No. 6 (1946 New York)
  • String Quartet No. 7 Concerto da camera (1947 New York)
• Nonet No. 1 (1925 Paris)
• Nonet No. 2 (1959 Schönenberg)
• Fantasia, for theremin, oboe, string quartet, and piano
• Trio for Flute, Violin, and Piano (1937 Paris)
• Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano (1944 Ridgefield, Conn.)
• Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola (1947 New York)

[edit] Instrumental

• Violin Sonata No. 1
• Violin Sonata No. 2
• Violin Sonata No. 3
• Flute Sonata
• Scherzo for Flute and Piano
• Viola Sonata
• Harpsichord Sonata

[edit] Piano

• Piano Sonata (1954 Nice)
• Loutky (Puppettes) - two books
• Etudes and Polkas - three books

[edit] External links

• Bohuslav Martinů Foundation in Prague
• Catalogue of Worksca:Bohuslav Martinů

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