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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)

Composer of the Week: Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959): Episode 2: La vie parisienne

Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)

Episode 2

Episode 2: La vie parisienne

La vie parisienne

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959), La vie parisienne

How the artistic hothouse of 1920s Paris was reflected in Martinu's music.

Donald Macleod explains how the artistic hothouse of 1920s Paris was reflected in Martinu's music, including La revue de cuisine.

Donald Macleod finds the artistic hothouse of 1920s Paris reflected in Martinu's music, including Martinu's tale of love among the kitchen utensils, La revue de cuisine. 

Caught up in the events of the Second World War, Bohuslav Martinu spent the majority of his life living in exile. When he was born in 1890, the little town of Policka was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A period of independence for Czechoslovakia came to an end when, in 1938, Hitler annexed part of the country to Germany. By the time of Martinu's death in 1959, he was living in Switzerland, where he was receiving treatment for cancer and the Communists had assumed power in his homeland. Yet, despite his protracted absence, Martinu remained spiritually attached to his homeland and readily acknowledged the influence of its music. But equally, as we'll hear across this week, Martinu's music expresses a rich diversity of styles. From his years spent in Paris there are works informed by the popularity of jazz and by Debussy and Stravinsky in the swinging 1920s. When he moved to the United States he turned to symphonic writing. On his return to Europe, he was drawn to Renaissance Art and produced chamber music, basking in the warmth of Nice as well as turning to the poetry of his beloved homeland. Drawing on all these experiences, Martinu was a prolific composer who worked ceaselessly at his craft. He produced a treasury of more than four hundred works across every conceivable form and instrumentation, which reflect not only his roots but his thirst for novelty and inspiration.

Having fallen in love with Paris while touring with the Czech Philharmonic as a violinist, in his twenties Martinu moved there on a permanent basis. The result was a proliferation of music which draws on the cross-fertilisation of culture he experienced around him. Presented by Donald Macleod. 

Who is the most powerful in the World? (excerpt)
Prague Symphony Orchestra 
Jiri Belohlavek, conductor

Butterflies and Birds of Paradise (excerpt) 
Emil Leichner, piano 

Revue de cuisine
Bohumil Kotmel, violin 
Frantisek Host, cello 
Tomas Kopacek, clarinet 
Frantisek Herman, bassoon 
Jaroslav Halir, trumpet 
Daniel Wiesner, piano 

String Quartet No. 3 
Doric String Quartet 

La Bagarre
Brno State Philharmonic 
Petr Vronsky, conductor.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Bohuslav Martinu

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Bohuslav Martinu, a composer whose work encompasses a rich variety of styles

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Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)

Episode 2: La vie parisienne

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