Martinů, Bohuslav (1890-1959)

[Pulcinella]

I've probably commented on this above, but briefly: in the string quartets the Panochas are on their own for idiomatic beauty and intensity and the essential Martinu schwung....the only true competitor, and the gorgeously-recorded-and-played Rolls-Royce of Martinu Chamber series, is the Praga cycle, expensively spread over at least 4 CDs, with the Prazak/Kocian/Zemlinsky Quartets, plus Ivan KLansky in the Piano Quartet/Quintets...

I found the Naxos/Martinu surprisingly unsubtle and often too closely recorded in the quartets; much better, sweeter and more spacious, in their Piano Quintets with Kosarek. I regretted the purchase of the Stamitz, who give it everything but don't flow as naturally as the favoured two either melodically or rhythmically, and are tonally rather rougher too. I did try....Don't go back to it much now.

But it is best wth rep like this to try-before-buy if at all possible...

***
The original Panocha set has much nicer cover art than the reissue, and I can vouch for the sound.....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks! Found the Panocha set on Deezer/Sonos, so will listen when I get the chance.
Deezer's search facility is rubbish, but 'Artist' then 'Discography' eventually revealed it!

[Bryn]

Plenty from me already on this thread (see above).... a Martinu obsessive....(not opera, I just don't do opera)....

Hmm, choosing to deprive oneself of Julietta/Juliette seems a step too far, to me. I presume you have at least availed yourself of the Orchestral Suite Martinu derived from the opera.

[jayne lee wilson]

Hmm, choosing to deprive oneself of Julietta/Juliette seems a step too far, to me. I presume you have at least availed yourself of the Orchestral Suite Martinu derived from the opera.

The poor old ears won't offer much joy with classical vocal I'm afraid...an all-too-obvious physiological limitation (first noticed some years ago, live at the RLPO in choral works), especially with the left one. I try to save them up for various Beethoven and Brahms and Szymanowski favourites (you can easily guess which) but even there, it is sometimes difficult to tolerate.... so I might play them on the Tivoli-mini, or let them float through the house sometimes....

I have heard the suite; wouldn't have it down in my favourites.... but there are plenty of other wonderful orchestral works, some still little known, so...
I suspect few people know the piano concertos well; wonderfully inspired catchy things, very rewarding to go through from 1-5 in order, a baedecker to the Martinovian stylistic evolution across four decades...(see above again, etc...)

[Pulcinella]

This review of the Stamitz set of string quartets (generally positive) gives some useful (well, I thought so) information about them, missing otherwise, as I'm streaming the Panocha set with only movement breakdown/tempo information.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/July03/martinubrilliant.htm

[muzzer]

The poor old ears won't offer much joy with classical vocal I'm afraid...an all-too-obvious physiological limitation (first noticed some years ago, live at the RLPO in choral works), especially with the left one. I try to save them up for various Beethoven and Brahms and Szymanowski favourites (you can easily guess which) but even there, it is sometimes difficult to tolerate.... so I might play them on the Tivoli-mini, or let them float through the house sometimes....

I have heard the suite; wouldn't have it down in my favourites.... but there are plenty of other wonderful orchestral works, some still little known, so...
I suspect few people know the piano concertos well; wonderfully inspired catchy things, very rewarding to go through from 1-5 in order, a baedecker to the Martinovian stylistic evolution across four decades...(see above again, etc...)

Thanks so much for these recommendations. Which set of the PCs would you suggest?

[jayne lee wilson]

Thanks so much for these recommendations. Which set of the PCs would you suggest?

See #77 above for a detailed Koukl/Fagen/Naxos vs Firkusny/Pesek/RCA comparison....which I still stand by.
I added this on Leichner/Belohlavek (the only other complete set apart from Koukl) later:

I finally got around to Leichner/Bëlohlávek in the Concertos 1-5 and whilst Layton's comment "only of use as a stopgap until something more interesting arrives" as he acclaimed Firkušny/Pešek seems a touch harsh, it comes across as somewhat staid and predictable though usefully strongest in 4 and the rarely-recorded 5. So - go with the Naxos for the Piano Concertos intégrale, supplemented with Kolinsky/Ashkenazy in 2&4 (best), and/or Firkušny in 2-4. (To my ears, Koukl and Kolinsky are often more agile through Martinu's trickier rhythms - e.g.first solo in No.2).

The Kolinsky is a marvellous Ondine disc, one of the best single-album Martinu issues with a terrific Frescoes on it too, very compelling live recordings from Basel. If you hadn't heard much Martinu it's a wonderful entry point.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Martinu-Overture-Piano-Concertos-Nos-2/dp/B002QEXC8U/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=martinu+ondine&qid=1569289995&s=music&sr=1-2

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/martinu-b-piano-concertos-nos-2-and-4-les-fresques-de-piero-della-francesca-overture-kolinsky-basel-symphony-ashkenazy-bohuslav-martinu/0761195115824

[muzzer]

That’s great, many thanks indeed.

[Richard Barrett]

As with Beethoven, I would rate the 4th and 5th piano concertos much more highly than the others. Having said that, I prefer the concerto for violin and piano (Martinu not Beethoven) to any of the piano concertos.

Among the symphonies, no.3 and (especially) no.6 stand out for me.

Among other orchestral works, I would name Frescoes, Sinfonietta La Jolla, Toccata e due canzoni, the concerto for string quartet and orchestra, the Double Concerto.

Otherwise, Julietta, The Epic of Gilgamesh... but somehow I've never really got into his chamber music.

[Master Jacques]

Some posters may not be aware of the most recent - and in my opinion, far the best, set of the Martinu Piano Concertos. It's a beautifully packaged and annotated, 3CD set on the RadioServis label (available from Czech online sellers such as the excellent CDmusic.cz).

Rather than having Leichner clanging his way through the lot, or tolerating the pallid Naxos set, we can hear RadioServis's different approach. with a set of eight leading Czech pianists (including two for the Concerto for Two Pianos H.292 and one for the Concertino H.269, which are also included) specially selected for each concerto, all played with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under Tomas Brauner. The recordings were made between 2015 and 2016 and the sound is crystal clear and very natural. The set was issued in 2017, and was definitely my "set of the year".

The performances blow away the opposition (for me), in revealing more of Martinu's textures, enjoying better balanced recordings, and in all cases they are most beautifully prepared and thoughtfully played. There's no question: this is the set of the Piano Concertos to turn to now.

[jayne lee wilson]

Well to describe the Koukl/Fagen as "pallid" seems bizarre to me.... if anything the opposite, very committed, almost OTT sometimes, usually for the right reasons....and the most original, refreshing, renewing soloistic approach of those I've heard...(details in #77 above...). Fagen very in tune with Koukl's approach too. I've lived with them for a few years, and my admiration only grew....(and again, immediately, in comparison with Firkusny etc last night)
Very enthusiastically received in the Gramophone, by Guy Rickards...(3/10. 1/11..."the music leaps off the page...mercurial...viviacity and virtuosity"..etc...)

Koukl is a true Martinu specialist with many solo piano recordings (7 discs, I think...which I cannot claim intimate knowledge of...) to his credit.

This CZ set looks interesting, though with 8 pianists, I guess I'm a little wary (& if you don't like the Naxos, even warier..)..your link doesn't show the set though, but I did find it eventually. Comes out around £8.49, yeah? Whatabout delivery times/costs, MJ?

Have you heard Kolinsky/Ashkenazy in 2 & 4, MJ?

[Pulcinella]

Well to describe the Koukl/Fagen as "pallid" seems bizarre to me.... if anything the opposite, very committed, almost OTT sometimes, usually for the right reasons....and the most original, refreshing, renewing soloistic approach of those I've heard...(details in #77 above...). Fagen very in tune with Kook's approach too. I've lived with them for a few years, and my admiration only grew....(and again, immediately, in comparison with Firkusny etc last night)
Very enthusiastically received in the Gramophone, by Guy Rickards...

This CZ set looks interesting, though with 8 pianists a challenge to assess....your link doesn't show the set though, but I did find it eventually. Comes out around £8.49, yeah? Whatabout delivery times/costs, MJ?

Link here:

https://www.cdmusic.cz/en/bohuslav-martinu/martinu-b.-piano-concertos-nos.1-5-concertino-concerto-for-2-pianos-3cd-%5Bid%3DCR07762%5D

I'm interested in delivery cost etc, too, as this sounds an interesting set.
Worth a gamble, methinks!

[Bryn]

Well to describe the Koukl/Fagen as "pallid" seems bizarre to me.... if anything the opposite, very committed, almost OTT sometimes, usually for the right reasons....and the most original, refreshing, renewing soloistic approach of those I've heard...(details in #77 above...). Fagen very in tune with Kook's approach too. I've lived with them for a few years, and my admiration only grew....(and again, immediately, in comparison with Firkusny etc last night)
Very enthusiastically received in the Gramophone, by Guy Rickards...(3/10. 1/11..."the music leaps off the page....viviacity and virtuosity"..etc...)

This CZ set looks interesting, though with 8 pianists a challenge to assess....your link doesn't show the set though, but I did find it eventually. Comes out around £8.49, yeah? Whatabout delivery times/costs, MJ?

Have you heard Kolinsky/Ashkenazy in 2 & 4, MJ?

Around £15.50 including p&p (depending on fluctuations in the exchange rate. I just ordered it.

[jayne lee wilson]

Around £15.50 including p&p (depending on fluctuations in the exchange rate. I just ordered it.

Ditto....thanks.... doing OK out of us today, CZ....
(BTW Bryn, tapes from the beyond finally found...will send soon/PM etc..)...

[Bryn]

Ditto....thanks.... doing OK out of us today, CZ....
(BTW Bryn, tapes from the beyond finally found...will send soon/PM etc..)...

[Master Jacques]

I am sure neither of you will regret buying this wonderful set - and this is one of my favourite vendors, with a load of Czech music recordings difficult to source elsewhere, reasonable postage and the "personal touch" too (on one occasion they sent me some complementary postcards featuring Martinu's 2nd Quartet m/s.)

I hadn't read any reviews of the Naxos set. It always sounded a rush job to me, which the RadioServis set patently is not.

And although I bought the Ashkenazy/Kolinsky disc as a matter of course when it came out, the disc as a whole made very little impression. I'll give it another spin for sure: all I can recall is the disappointing lacklustre Les Fresques and the fact that Incantations sounded ill-defined structurally, which it can easily do.

Talking of which I broke the habit of a lifetime by actually buying the BBC Music Magazine featuring said concerto last month (!) Glad to have done so, as Garrick Ohlsen's formidable intellect gives us one of the most satisfying readings of the solo part I've heard, full of insight and variety of touch; although on the negative side (at least in the first few minutes) Volkov and the Scottish seem to be "in the mists" a bit.