Duo No. 2 for Violin and Viola, H. 331

Allegro


  • Recorded: 9th February 2005
  • Record Place: Kroměříž
  • First Release: 2008
  • (P) 2008 SUPRAPHON a.s.
  • Genre: Vocal

Artists

  • music by: Bohuslav Martinů
  • viola: Alexander Besa
  • violin: Bohuslav Matoušek

Album

Alexander Besa

Martinů: Chamber Music with Viola

Catalogue Number: SU 3952-2
Published: 27th June 2008
Genre: Vocal
Format: 1 CD
While Bohuslav Martinů dedicated himself to the violin and its brilliant tone from the very beginning of his oeuvre, the viola doesn't appear until his later years, (all of the pieces onthis album dating from the period 1947-59). It is as if he found in the viola, with its dark timbres, its ability to be harsh and rhythmic as well as sweet and lyrical, an instrument to express his feelings and sufferings in the last part of his life. A Mozartian joy and temperament flash through the lyrical moods, nostalgia and "Czech" fervor of the folk-music motives, like reminders of his unbridled youth through memories of the homeland to which he was no longer able to return. The transparent structure of the Three Madrigals and Duet No. 2 gives way to the ardent song of the Sonata for Viola, while in the Chamber Music the viola is just a gossamer strand in the broad color palette of the combinations of all the instruments in the sextet. Violist Alexander Besa is an excellent soloist, chamber player and orchestral musician (Camerata Bern et al.) with a number of recordings and awards to his name. The album features, without exaggeration, the best Czech musicians of the younger generation. The lyrical viola, dark and brilliant, joyful and mournful in the later works of Bohuslav Martinů.
Bohuslav Martinů
Three Madrigals (Duo No. 1) for Violin and Viola, H. 313
1. Poco allegro 04:27
2. Poco andante 05:38
3. Allegro 05:35
Bohuslav Martinů
Duo No. 2 for Violin and Viola, H. 331
4. Allegro 05:25
5. Lento 06:02
6. Allegro (poco) 04:10
Bohuslav Martinů
Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1, H. 355
7. Poco andante - Moderato 08:02
8. Allegro non troppo 08:43
Bohuslav Martinů
Chamber music No. 1 for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Harp and Piano, H. 376
9. Allegro moderato 07:14
10. Andante moderato 06:52
11. Poco Allegro 05:59