Bohuslav Martinu / Symphonies (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Vaclav Neuman), 1976-78.
The First is romantically inclined - thick with images of seas thriving with swirling plankton, effervescently irrepressible, the stamp of the Rite of Spring, the chuckle of Petrushka, the third movement a funereal reflection rising to a great string anthem - the equipoise of the whole work. Joy is unleashed in the finale predictive of the life force of the Fourth Symphony.
The Second is innocently pastoral - naively flowing in the gracious and serene manner of Dvorák in the Serenade for Strings and the Eighth Symphony. There are impressionistic traces as well. These were picked up from his Parisian years and parallel his First Quartet The French.
The piano often plays a noticeable role in the orchestral works whether or not designated as a concerto. In the Third the role is prominent - especially noticeable in the massive-feeling first movement. In the final movement there are Tallis-like moments as well as the insect buzz of the Sixth Symphony. The optimistic woodwind calls are superbly recorded by Supraphon's analogue engineers who also capture the sweetest of high arching strings.
While the Fifth and Sixth are popularly singled out as the strongest of the sextet my vote goes to the Fourth as Martinu 's most lyrical, heart-easing and dynamic inspiration - truly a gripping symphony. In the second movement Neumann outpoints the famous Turnovsky for tensile snap and malevolence. The brilliance of the brass writing in the last movement must surely have been influenced by Janacek's Sinfonietta.
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