THE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ FOUNDATION THE BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ INSTITUTE THE INTERNATIONAL MARTINŮ CIRCLE MR Martinů on America september—december 2015 / vol.XV / no.3 The Three Wishes in Ostrava The Greek Passion in Essen Martinů in Venice review martinů infrankfurt contents / GÜNTER THIELE equally fine French production I saw at the Bastille Opera in Paris a few years later. The main attrac- ALTHOUGH THERE has been an increase in per- tions for me were Larmes de couteau and Alexan- 2 formances of the stage works of Martinů, I wonder dre Bis, neither of which I had seen on stage before. MARTINŮ IN FRANKFURT if the “Oper Finale” in Frankfurt am Main this sum- The young ensemble conducted by Nikolai Petersen GÜNTER THIELE mer doesn’t represent the most ambitious attempt presented convincing interpretations of both works to establish the position of Martinů’s operas in the but also gave a clue to why Martinů returned to public eye for quite some time. Ribemont-Dessaignes for additional libretti. The 3 For anything similar I think one has to go back text, which has obvious poetic qualities, is some- to the Prague Spring and Brno Autumn festivals of times quite funny, and Martinů’s jazzy music fits 1990, where those lucky enough to be present had like a glove. Here the director Beate Baron suc- the opportunity to take part of Martinů’s complete ceeded in creating an almost Beckett- like setting. 4 œuvre in this field. Actually that impressive mani- Much of the time mother and daughter were im - MARTINŮ IN LIESTAL festation of Martinů’s mastery in writing stage prisoned under a veil of red cloth. Only their heads 5 6 THE THREE WISHES, OR A SILENT FILM IN OPERA photo: monika rittershaus photo: PETR VEBER THE THREE WISHES IN OSTRAVA LENKA ŠALDOVÁ 8 MARTINŮ AT THE VENICE BIENNALE ROBERT SIMON Tears of the Knife: Elizabeth Reiter (Eleonora) and Katharina Magiera (Mother) 10 works did not initially result in an abundance of were visible. The scenery in Alexander bis was THE GREEK PASSION IN ESSEN performances outside the Czech Republic. Produc- more realistic and led my associations to Anouilh, tions of Martinů’s operas were still rather few and but the opera’s mixture of the surreal and farcical far in between. But this millennium, the time seems was in my opinion rather difficult to digest. The 12 to be ripe for the position in the limelight that sev- music also sounded less inspired at times, and – AN INTERVIEW WITH JAKUB HRŮŠA eral of them deserve. if one takes in account its close proximity to This may be particularly true for Juliette, but also Juliette – less enterprising. Due to circumstances The Greek Passion. And hopefully Les trois souhaits connected with the heat-wave in Frankfurt 14 and Plays of Mary will soon follow suit. during my visit, I unfortunately had to abstain Anyhow, those present in Frankfurt am Main fromComedy on the Bridge after the intermission. THE CENTENARY OF VÍTĚZSLAVA between 21 June and 17 July 2015 could saw Mar - KAPRÁLOVÁ / PART 2 tinů’s name on the billboard almost daily. Juliette, Mr. Günter Thiele is a member KARLA HARTL H 253 was presented six times, and the triple of International Martinů Circle bill with Larmes de couteau (Tears of the Knife), H 169, Alexandre Bis, H 255 and Comedy on 16 the Bridge, H 247 on seven occasions. In addition to this, there were several chamber THREE ONE ACT OPERAS: A VERY WARM HUMAN BEING: concerts, recitals and talks about Martinů’s life Tears of the Knife, H 169; Comedy on the Bridge, HOPE CASTAGNOLA BOGORAD and work. H 247; Alexandre Bis, H 255 I was unable to attend these “extras” but I have 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16 and 17 July 2015, 7.30 pm REMEMBERING BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ seldom had the impression of being in the company Opera House Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, of such an attentive audiences as during the Juliette Germany and the three-act bill. www.oper-frankfurt.de 18 BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ: Although I feel that by and large the Juliette pro- Beate Baron (Director), duction in Frankfurt was a good one, it didn’t meas- Nikolai Petersen (Conductor) IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA ure up to my favourites from the past: Opera North’s Soloists: Anna Ryberg, Sebastian Geyer, splendid performance which I attended during Elizabeth Reiter, Katharina Magiera, a guest performance in Prague 2000, and the Maren Favela and other 2 | martinůrevue32015 highlights Juliette / H 253 28 May 2016 / 7:00 pm / PREMIERE 2 + 5 + 7 + 10 + 14 + 18 June / 7:30 pm The Greek Passion / H 372/I > Schiller Theater, Berlin, Germany 5 March 2016 / 7:30 pm / PREMIERE Daniel Barenboim (Conductor) 9 + 12 + 17 + 23 March 2016 / 7:30 pm Claus Guth (Director) 15 April 2016 Soloists: Magdalena Kožená (Juliette) / 7:30 pm Rolando Villazón (Michel) 3 + 10 + 22 April 2016 / 3:00 pm State Opera Chorus > Graz Opera House, Graz, Austria www.staatsoper-berlin.de www.oper-graz.com The Three Wishes Juliette / H 253 or Inconstancy of the Life / H 175 24 March 2016 / PREMIERE 24 January 2016 25 + 28 March 2016 19 + 31 March 2016 3 + 26 April 2016 13 + 22 April 2016 > National Theatre, Prague, CZ 12 May 2016 Jaroslav Kyzlink (Conductor) > Antonín Dvořák Theatre, Ostrava, CZ Zuzana Gilhuus (Director) Jakub Klecker (Conductor) www.narodni-divadlo.cz Jiří Nekvasil (Stage Director) www.ndm.cz Patrick Lambert, Martinů in His Time – The Recorded Legacy. A Biographical Survey of the Early Recordings (Bohuslav Martinů Institute: Prague 2016), 83 p. ISBN 978-80-906098-2-2 Price: 10 € / 7 € for IMC members Orders: http://eshop.martinu.cz martinůrevue32015 | 3 And so was the case also in Liestal: together with the Orchester Liestal (OLi), one of the oldest and martinů most ambitious amateur orchestras in Switzerland. In weeks of very intense work, we prepared the Rhapsody-Concerto and performed it on 7 and 8 No - imc news vem ber 2015 under the baton of Roberto Fabbroni with great success. inliestal The OLi, located in the beautiful, small town near Basel where Martinů lived in his late years, has always been open to recent literature. Nevertheless, Martinů's music posed a very special challenge: the orchester liestal & mirjam tschopp his rhythmically difficult writing at first caused many members of the orchestra find the work performed the rhapsody-concerto unplayable. However, as soon as it began to sound, as soon as there was a sense for the dynamics of the WHEN I SAY, “Martinů has accompanied me my work, the rhythms lost their frightening complexity whole life”, that's only a slight exaggeration: and the beauty of this music became apparent. at the age of ten I heard his music on the radio Nonetheless: until the end everybody had to be very and absolutely wanted to play it. My teacher was and to this day it remains one of my favorite works attentive and very present. surprised by this, but knew of my passion for ever. But what is the reason for this fascination? For me personally, this project was a very rhythm and strange sounds and supported me as The Rhapsody combines the best elements of special one: hardly ever has a performance of this much as he could: in a very short time I learned the Martinů’s music in a rousing manner and chal - work made me so happy. Not only because these Sonatina, the Arabesques and the two Trios for two lenges the viola without ever going beyond the 50 amateur musicians, with utmost seriousness Violins and Piano. As a 15-year-old, I fell in love with limits of this instrument. The depth of Martinů’s and admirable dedication, gave their absolute best the initial cadenza of the 2nd Violin Concerto and music lies in the harmonic sound shifts, in the flow (and they were really good!), but also because there also studied that piece. Later on, the double and of the melodies and in its motoric quality. This is was a special energy behind everything, an energy triple concertos and numerous chamber music a transparent music that remains sensual even if that enabled a true dialogue between my solo part works were added. And so there is no composer it always follows an inner logic. The dark, wistful, and the orchestra during the concerts. who has accompanied me similarly long and of even rough viola adds an additional component to I am convinced that a composer has really con - whom I've played as many works. I can no longer these characteristics. The moods change very fast nected with the audience precisely in the moment remember what first fascinated me about Martinů’s between extremes: from sometimes humorous, but when he is not played by only the great stars of the music as a child. Today – 30 years later – playing often harsh, even aggressive-intensive and "groovy" music world. And so I hope – no, actually, I am sure Martinů feels to me like coming home. sections directly to deeply sad cantilenas which – that Martinů would have enjoyed this beautiful But none of Martinů’s works has ever meant as radiate hope and light. This accounts for the seem - project very much! much to me as the Rhapsody-Concerto for viola! It is ingly free rhapsodic character of this work and is, as if it told a whole life story… For me, the Rhapsody in my eyes, the reason why this piece is always Mirjam Tschopp, violinist and violist, was also the reason to seriously study the viola – a great success with the audience.