Martinů

Martinů’s Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola: Bohemian Renaissance

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Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) was born in the tower of St. Jakub Church in the small Bohemian town of Polička. He was a notoriously bad student at the Prague Conservatory, where he studied violin but was more interested in composing. Briefly, he was a member of the second violin section of the Czech Philharmonic. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he studied with Albert Roussel and began to compose extensively. Following the …

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Martinů’s “La Revue de Cuisine”: A Zany, Jazz Age Ballet Suite

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The Czech composer, Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), was living in Paris when, in 1927, he composed the score for the zany ballet in one act, La Revue de Cuisine (“The Kitchen Review”). The plot of the ballet centers around the romantic entanglements of a menagerie of kitchen utensils which have come to life. The happy marriage of the Pot and the Lid is threatened by the seductive Twirling Stick. While the Pot is …

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Martinů’s Nonet No. 2: Sunny, Exuberant Neoclassicism

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Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) was one of the most significant and prolific Czech composers of the twentieth century. As a young man, Martinů performed as a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic and studied composition briefly with Josef Suk. He left Prague in 1923 and relocated to Paris. There he was drawn to new musical currents which included jazz, neoclassicism, and surrealism. During this time, the French composer Albert Roussel served as his chief mentor. With …

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