Martinu: Piano Quartet No. 1, H. 287

Commemorating 50 years since Martinu’s death, the Birmingham Conservatoire’s Ensemble-in-Residence, The Schubert Ensemble, together with the Conservatoire’s Principal, George Caird, perform a varied programme by this prolific Czech composer, who spent much of his life in exile.

The recording illustrates both his versatility and his fantastically colourful musical language, and culminates in the exhilarating piano quartet, which is considered to be one of Martinu’s finest chamber compositions from his American years. It was immediately after completing this work that Martinu embarked upon writing the first of his six substantial symphonies, major contributions to the symphonic legacy of the first half of the twentieth century. Two of the other works on this disc were also written in his during his stay in America – Piano Trio No.3, and Quartet for oboe, violin and piano. Duo No.2 in D for violin and violoncello completes the programme.

After 26 years at the forefront of British chamber music, the Schubert Ensemble is firmly established as one of the world’s leading exponents of chamber music for piano and strings.

The composer of Julietta left an abundant harvest of chamber works, a jazzy, iconoclastic piano quintet, then two masterpieces from the American period, preliminary counterpoints to the Symphonies of 1942 and 1944, still marked by the anguish of war.Three masterpieces brought together on a single disc for the first time by the Kocians and Ivan Klansky.

2CDs + bonus DVD

Bohuslav Martinu, H 136: this enigmatic title covers the rediscovery of a work believed to be lost, the first string trio, composed in Paris in 1923.After more than 80 years, this manuscript, which inexplicably disappeared immediately after its first performance, was acquired by chance from a German bookseller by the Royal Library in Copenhagen.The Calliopée Ensemble brings us the first recording, accompanied by a bonus 26-minute DVD on the second side of CD2, recounting the stages of this amazing adventure.