Bohuslav Martinu : Sonates pour violoncelle

Description

Each of Bohuslav Martinu's three cello sonatas is linked to a significant period or event in his life. Composed in May 1939, the first seems deeply marked by the tension and anxiety gripping Europe in the months leading up to the war. The composer was also going through a personal crisis, having recently had an intense extramarital affair with Vitezslava Kapralova, a young composer and conductor. The First Sonata is a tense work, often filled with anger, even in its meditative central movement. This atmosphere continues at the beginning of the Second, one of the first works Martinu completed after emigrating to the United States with his wife and children. This period was also marked by stress and homesickness, which can be felt in the Czech character of the melodies, asserting themselves throughout the sonata, until the finale synthesizes the old and new worlds through a fusion of jazz and Bohemian folk melody. Like many of Martinu's late works, such as his last symphony and The Greek Passion, the Third Sonata from 1952 proves more elusive, often with an almost touching naivety, culminating in a neoclassical gigue that perhaps symbolizes the composer's mourning for a homeland he would never set foot on again. Many renowned cellists have been captivated by these concise yet demanding works, and the public along with them. Riviera Lazeri, an Italian cellist at ease in the realm of contemporary music, is here accompanied by pianist David Boldrini, an interpreter of works by Cimarosa and Czerny, among others, recorded for Brilliant Classics and praised by critics.