Bohuslav Martinů: Early Orchestral Works, Volume Three
This series of recordings of Martinů’s early orchestral works has already brought more than its fair share of surprises. The two shorter works here are colourful and atmospheric tone-poems, pieces of real substance and major discoveries in their own right. But it is the 1922 symphonic triptych Vanishing Midnight (Míjející půlnoc in the original Czech) – here receiving its first recording – which will prove the real revelation. A big-hearted work of breathtaking opulence and striking confidence, Vanishing Midnight is as exquisitely lovely as it is powerful and dramatic – Martinů’s first true masterpiece.
Sinfonia Varsovia
Agnieszka Kopacka, piano (Track 5)
Ian Hobson, conductor
Listen To This Recording:
-
Vanishing Midnight (1922)*
- Vanishing Midnight: I Satyrs in the Grove of Cypresses
- Vanishing Midnight: II The Blue Hour
- Vanishing Midnight: III Shadows
- Ballade (after Boecklin’s picture Villa by the Sea)
- Dream of the Past
Ballade (after Böcklin’s picture Villa by the Sea) (c. 1915)*
Dream of the Past (1920)
*FIRST RECORDINGS
MusicWeb International :
‘The vivid contributions of the Sinfornia Varsovia and Ian Hobson ensure the disc’s success.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International