Bohuslav Martinu played masterfully by Trio Martinu
Bohuslav Martinu had a remarkably consistent style that spanned over 380 works written over a half-century. Certain syncopations, inspired by the rhythm of his native Czech language, are almost always present. And his harmonies, also inspired by his country’s folk music, sound like no one else’s.
That’s not to say Martinu wrote the same piece over and over. Quite the contrary. Every work has its own characteristic sound, even as it fits into the overall continuum of Martinu’s life work.
The Trio Martinu turn in some fine performances of Martinu’s four piano trios. Martinu always sounds best when played with energy, and this trio delivers. Attacks are crisp and precise. At times the trio seems to insert a swagger into their playing or add a charming sweetness in lyrical passages.
The Piano Trio No. 1 was completed in 1930 in Paris. Martinu was inspired by Stravinsky. The five short pieces that make up the trio sound almost like studies of Stravinsky’s style. The piano part is quite percussive, but the overall sound is softened by Moravian melodic turns and harmonies.
Martinu’s next trio was also written in Paris. The style is (to me) more quintessentially Martinu. The texture of the three instruments is transparent. The harmonies are more pronouncedly modal. The percussiveness of the first trio is gone, replaced by dancelike syncopations.
Martinu returned to the genre only after the Second World War. He had fled France when the Nazis invaded and settled in New York. Significantly, perhaps, the second and third trios are the only ones to be assigned keys.
The Piano Trio No. 2 in D minor shares many aspects with the first, but developed to a higher degree of sophistication. The third piano trio in C major was written a year after the second, in 1951. It’s almost a companion piece, with perhaps a bit more brightness (major vs. minor, I suppose).
Fine works from a master craftsman, perform by master instrumentalists.
Bohuslav Martinu: Complete Piano Trios
Trio Martinu
Musicaphon M56970
