performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jirí Bělohlávek, or in an actual video that doesn’t have a weird stock photo with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony under Andrés Orozco-Estrada You cannot change a single note…it is a classical symphony… Serge Koussevitzky (cover … Continue reading Martinů Symphony no. 1, H. 289
performed by Josef Suk and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Václav Neumann “…for me this will mean great publicity, as well as a great deal of work.” Martinů, of his first violin concerto (cover image by Gonard Fluit) He was wrong. … Continue reading Martinů Violin Concerto no. 1, H. 226
performed by the Martinů Quartet, available from Spotify on this album (cover image by Chris Barbalis) Martinů’s brilliantly engaging second quartet was written in 1925, and published in 1927. Depending on the source, it was written either “in Paris” (says Keith Anderson … Continue reading Martinů String Quartet no. 2, H. 150
performed by Emil Leichner, or below by Paul Kaspar (the above video should start at 27:45) (cover image by Rhendi Rukmana) If you assumed from the ‘book III’ in the title of this work that there exist books I and II … Continue reading Martinů: Puppets, Book III
performed by János Starker, cello; Rudolf Firkušný, piano, or below by Jan Páleníček, cello; Jitka Čechová, piano The third cello sonata occupies ground somewhere between that of the concerto and the symphony. Its form is fluid… The looser process of constant evolution, … Continue reading Martinů Cello Sonata no. 3, H. 340
‘From my life’, performed by the Pavel Haas Quartet, or below by the Stamitz Quartet (cover image by Roman Kraft) Bedřich Smetana was born on 2 March, 1824 in Litomyšl, near the border between Bohemia and Moravia, at the time both provinces … Continue reading Bedřich Smetana: String Quartet no. 1 in E minor, ‘Z mého života’
performed by János Starker and Rudolf Firkušný, or below by John Walz, cello; Edith Orloff, piano Imagine being in a foreign country and hearing news of the Nazi invasion of the country your family still inhabits. What kind of music would … Continue reading Martinů Cello Sonata No. 1, H. 277
performed by the late Fredell Lack and Timothy Hester, or below by Markéta Janoušková, violin; Václav Mácha, piano (Before we begin this article, I’d like to take a moment to discuss Fredell Lack. This article had been scheduled for months, … Continue reading Martinů Violin Sonata no. 1, H. 182
performed by the Panocha Quartet (Oops! We have a rare case with no YouTube video for the work. If you’re intent on hearing it, you can purchase the first three movements individually from iTunes, part of the Panocha quartet set. Since … Continue reading Martinů String Quartet no. 1, H. 117, ‘French Quartet’
performed by Sviatoslav Richter and the Bavarian State Orchestra under Carlos Kleiber I see I am unable to write a Concerto for a virtuoso; I must think of other things. Dvorak, about his piano concerto … there is nothing in … Continue reading Dvorak Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33
performed by the Borodin Quartet with Sviatoslav Richter My dear friend! Do you remember that quintet (A major) with piano which, thanks to your efforts, was performed in Prague for the first time, about 14 years ago? I cannot find … Continue reading Dvorak Piano Quintet No. 1 in A, op. 5, B. 28
performed by Barry Tuckwell and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner What distinguished Punto, in a way that one has never heard in any other artist heretofore, was his most magnificent performance, the gentlest … Continue reading Giovanni Punto: Horn Concerto no. 11 in E
performed by Carmine Miranda and the Moravian Philharmonic under Petr Vronský, or below in another stunning performance with Rostropovich and the London Philharmonic under Guilini, the same pairing from Saint-Saëns last week! If I had known that it was possible to … Continue reading Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Rafael Kubelik Yeah, a symphony that isn’t his ninth. And it’s superb, Dvorak at his finest. Dvorak could be one of those composers who’s been cursed by his own success from a few very … Continue reading Dvorak Symphony no. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
performed by the Prager Streichquartett, or below by the Cleveland Quartet This is one of those pieces that impedes the discovery of all the composer’s other works in the form. We’ll eventually get around to Saint-Saëns’ organ symphony, but it’s the one that makes … Continue reading Dvorak String Quartet no. 12 in F major Op. 96 ‘American’
performed by the Prager Streichquartett Wow… this is a long quartet. But maybe it shouldn’t be. The Prague String Quartet’s recording comes in at 48 minutes, which feels pretty hefty for a chamber work, but other recordings, like that from the … Continue reading Dvorak String Quartet no. 1 in A, op. 2
performed by the Ensemble Wien-Berlin, or below by the commissioner of the work, the Czech Nonet subsequent movements can be found in this playlist This work was an accident. Martinů’s name had been one I was vaguely aware of, but with … Continue reading Bohuslav Martinů: Nonet no. 2, H. 374
with Dr. Katelyn Bouska | Listen here or in iTunes Have you ever had that experience of having a connection with music that you discovered, so that it seemed like yours? Disregard the fact that hundreds (of thousands) of other people … Continue reading Podcast: Illuminating Ištvan
featuring cellist Carmine Miranda. Listen here or find it in iTunes. I’m interested in interesting things. Aren’t you? Codes and ciphers are interesting. Is there something secretive in Schumann’s sole cello concerto? While not a performer of any kind, I agreed with what … Continue reading Podcast: Schumann’s Cipher
performed by the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra under Theodore Kuchar, or below by the Vienna Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa Excitingly another work from Dvořák this week, with his Noon Witch, a piece I had the chance to hear live a year or more … Continue reading Dvořák: The Noon Witch, op. 108
performed by the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra under Theodore Kuchar, or below with the Polish National Radio Symphony under Antoni Wit This is our 400th post here on Fugue for Thought! We’re coming up on a more significant milestone later in … Continue reading Dvořák: The Water Goblin, Op. 107 (B. 195)
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