Notes and Editorial Reviews
Gripping recordings of Martin?’s complete works for cello and piano.
Gripping recordings of Martin?’s complete works for cello and piano from the immensely gifted Russian cellist Karine Georgian. She was a Rostropovich student and amongst many honours gave the US premiere of the Khachaturian
Rhapsody-Concerto with the Chicago Symphony, the composer conducting. In 1994 she gave the first performance in Australia of Britten’s
Cello Symphony.
The three sonatas are concise three-movement structures. The
First Sonata dates from around the time of the composer’s flight from Paris, ultimately to the USA. The wildness of the mood, the ominous storm clouds brought out by Australian pianist,
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Ian Munro - who has done so much for Arthur Benjamin and Malcolm Williamson - and the general feeling of hunted manic urgency recall the Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani. The deeply rewarding
Second Sonata has the dynamism and plangency (try the second movement) of the Fourth Symphony. The
Third Sonata is a post-war work but is full of that hallmark meld of yearning and exuberance. The finale is truly exciting. Interesting to note the Beethovenian echoes in this work - paralleling similar voices in the Fifth Symphony. The two variation sets are just as passionately done and are very satisfying. The
Slovak set dates from the year of the composer’s death while the
Rossini sequence with its brazenly strutting finale belongs to his wartime output. Each set is about the length of a concert overture. The excellent notes are by Anthony Phillips. Those notes are studded with witty illustrations which enhance the package overall. There’s a fine informal photograph of a smiling and towsled Martin? on the back of the leaflet. The cover is an image of the place of Martin?’s childhood - the church tower of St James, Policka in the then Czechoslovakia.
This is a fine and closely-recorded collection with obvious virtues - even at prices higher than those asked by Alto.
-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International
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Works on This Recording
1.
Sonata for Cello and Piano no 1 by Bohuslav Martinu
Performer:
Karine Georgian (Cello),
Ian Munro (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; France
Length: 17 Minutes 24 Secs.
2.
Sonata for Cello and Piano no 2 by Bohuslav Martinu
Performer:
Karine Georgian (Cello),
Ian Munro (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1941; USA
Length: 19 Minutes 15 Secs.
3.
Sonata for Cello and Piano no 3 by Bohuslav Martinu
Performer:
Karine Georgian (Cello),
Ian Munro (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1952; USA
Length: 19 Minutes 16 Secs.
4.
Variations on a Slovak folksong for Cello and Piano by Bohuslav Martinu
Performer:
Karine Georgian (Cello),
Ian Munro (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1959; Switzerland
Length: 9 Minutes 30 Secs.
5.
Variations on a theme of Rossini for Cello and Piano by Bohuslav Martinu
Performer:
Karine Georgian (Cello),
Ian Munro (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1942; USA
Length: 8 Minutes 9 Secs.
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