Martinu: Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 3, H. 303

Violin and piano were the instruments whose technical and expressive possibilities Martinu knew best. Thanks to the violin he made it from his home town of Policka to his conservatory studies in Prague and, in time, to the position of 2nd Violin in the Czech Philharmonic. Although his composing soon took precedence over his performing, and he sold his violin immediately upon arriving in Paris, the instrument remained with Martinu the composer for his entire life. Thus this complete works edition affords a rare glimpse into his continually evolving creative process.

The project was undertaken by supremely qualified artists: Bohuslav Matoušek, soloist and former 1st Violin of the Stamic Quartet has devoted himself to Martinu with boundless dedication and insight, frequently performing these works with pianist Petr Adamec both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Thus just as the 33-year-old Martinu once set out into the wide world with his violin tucked under his arm, so these artists bring his music to the world time and time again.

Not so long ago, Gramophone magazine asked several of today’s leading virtuosos: who is the violinist’s violinist? The answer was almost unequivocal: David Oistrakh, violinist, footballer and gentleman. Growing up and thriving in difficult and dangerous times in Stalin’s Russia, his almost superhuman patience and poise made him an ideal recording artist, but that consistency is no less evident in this historical collection of live performances which have been collected to mark the hundredth anniversary of his birth. It includes several concertos of which he was progenitor, if not dedicatee, by virtue of his strength and delicacy as an artist: the two by Shostakovich and others by Prokofiev, Myaskovsky and Kabalevsky. The favourite hall-fillers by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius are included – and Oistrakh’s partners are no less distinguished, among them Yevgeny Mravinsky, Kurt Sanderling and the great conductor-accompanist, Kyrill Kondrashin, who recognised a kindred spirit in the dedication and human warmth of Oistrakh. There is, therefore, a significant representation of Oistrakh not just as heroic soloist but as gregarious chamber musician, with friends including the pianists Lev Oborin and Vladimir Yampolsky and the cellist Sviatoslav Knushevitsky. Their repertoire ranges from Albéniz to Zarzycki, including showpieces such as Tartini’s ‘Devil’s Trill’ Sonata and Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ as well as more Oistrakh-inspired works by Prokofiev and Catoire. This is an essential set both for anyone who has some of Oistrakh’s many studio recordings and wishes to explore further, and as an introduction to one of the last century’s most inspiring musicians.

Many performances not otherwise available

New remasterings

Detailed booklet-notes exploring Oistrakh’s eventful life and musical career