Bohuslav Martinů

This album features Martinů’s quartets Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 7. I assume this is the first step toward a complete recording? 
It’s not like that. The idea to perform a complete cycle of Martinů’s works first came from John Gilhooly, the director of Wigmore Hall. He asked us to perform all seven of Martinů’s quartets. This idea arose before the pandemic. Later, some of the concerts didn’t happen, but we initially started almost eight years ago.
Studying and interpreting Martinů’s quartets was very intense, and we realised that seven quartets would be an enormous undertaking. They are extremely challenging pieces, so we decided to record only four of them.
We wanted to showcase a variety of contrasting quartets, which is why we chose to record numbers 2, 3, 5 and 7. Who knows? Maybe we will complete the cycle of his quartets in the future, but it’s not on the schedule yet.
It was an exciting time with the Martinů works — very intense. As I said before, these pieces, and Martinů’s works in general, are extremely difficult, technically and musically, especially with regard to ensemble playing and not just in the individual structures.

What do these quartets represent for you in the corpus of Czech music? What are their musical qualities?  
In general, Martinů has an extremely rich musical language. He combines neoclassical style with polyrhythm and polyharmony. As he experimented a lot, his work has a very rich structure. His characters are often based on pseudo-baroque forms. He loved jazz, especially in the 1920s when it was very trendy. I will always recognise Martinů’s rhythm and harmony when I hear any of his pieces.
I can’t say that he is very Czech, even though in his later works he returned to a very melodic Czech aesthetic closer to Dvořák’s style, but always with his own harmonies and, above all, his lively, almost frenzied rhythm. Very often, the first beat doesn’t mean anything. It is then just the first beat of the phrase. But in his music, you have to just recognize and really analyse if the phrase can start from the fourth beat or can start after the second beat. Like the second beat is the end of the phrase. So it’s a little bit like bars, like these lines, basically means nothing. So that’s why it’s very difficult sometimes to respect the main beat. But anyway, Martinů, again, even for Czechs, is very different. Also Janáček is very different. You can’t compare Janáček with anyone else. Someone can say that Martinů has a bit of Prokofiev or Stravinsky, but I wouldn’t say that. It’s him, and that’s why all these years, when we played, and we will play his quartets which are really exciting pieces.

You performed these quartets many times in concerts before recording them. Is it important to you to familiarise yourself with the scores before recording them?
That’s the most important thing, if you compare it to other genres of music, like pop music. People get together in the studio, the producer mixes the sounds, and then they go on tour. It’s the opposite process, you see, we really have to choose. We need the concerts, we need the rehearsal periods, and then, before the recording sessions, we need at least ten days to focus solely on that piece. So, the process before recording consists of giving a few concerts. Without the concerts, you can’t gain intensity and an intimate understanding of the music.

Peter Jarůšek

Despite its immense qualities, its many beauties, and its incredible variety of styles, Martinů’s work remains relatively rare in concert and on record. How do you explain this? Do you think a Martinů revival could happen one day?  
I think that musicians are a little bit afraid to play his music. The main thing is to start to play this music, because sometimes you are listening to music, and you are not lucky, and you have a not great interpretation, then Martinů can sound very confusing, and very much like robotic.
Unfortunately, Martinů wasn’t a very precise composer when it came to notation and instructions. Compare him, for example, with Dvořák, or even Beethoven or Brahms. The situation is very clear there. Martinů is able to put like 40 things in all four parts. I’m talking about the quartets, and then if there are like three, four lines, sounds similar, then it’s a mess, you know. Therefore, you have to really think about the registers, structures, which line is important, which is the second subject. So that’s why it is not in the score, and if you’re just following like totally without thinking, musical thinking, but following the score, it can sound strange. So that’s why it is very difficult. For me, he is one of the most important composers for solo instruments. When I was very young, I played his Variations on a Slovak theme or his Sonata. That was easier because there is one solo line and the piano. But quartets are a big challenge. So I think people don’t understand his music right away, and you really have to start reading it, playing it, and thinking about it. Obviously, that takes effort!

You have already recorded quartets by Pavel Haas, Dvořák, Janáček, and Smetana. Are Martinů’s quartets a kind of culmination of Czech music?
We are still young, so I don’t think this necessarily has to be the end of our adventure with Czech music. Martinů was just another piece of the puzzle that is the Bohemian musical tradition, which is truly incredible. Just look at the incredible number of personalities and composers that the Czech Republic and Bohemia have produced. It’s simply unique. That’s why we’re very proud and happy to be part of this culture and to be able to present Martinů as another example of this very unique region of Central Europe. So our next album will again be devoted to Czech music, with a little bit of Dvořák. Next year, we will record Dvořák’s Op. 61 in C major and Op. 105 in A-flat major, which are truly gems of his oeuvre.

Is it important for you, as a Czech chamber music ensemble, to promote Czech music?
We are very honoured to promote that music, but music is promoting itself, you know. Even if there will be no Czech musicians, I am sure that there will be another musician from UK, from US, from Asia, and they will always play Dvořák or Janáček and Smetana. So, of course, we are a Czech Ensemble, we are happy that we understand the music, and we are happy that promoters understand our proposals. So, of course, they are asking us for Czech composers, but we don’t play only Czech composers. But still, it’s such a rich range of unbelievable people from this country, and there is always something to discover. Indeed, we are very happy to play this music.

Pavel Haas Quartet
(c) Robert Tichy

Your string quartet is named after Pavel Haas, a brilliant Czech composer who was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz. How can we keep his work alive?
People play Pavel Haas’ music, which is the most important thing, as it keeps him and his music alive. Twenty years ago, he wasn’t very well known. Today, more and more people are familiar with him. I’m sure this is also thanks to our quartet, as we bear his name. Maybe his music is also played more often for this reason.
His body of work is not extensive in terms of quantity, consisting of suites for oboe, studies for chamber orchestra and a wind quintet — all superb pieces — as well as three quartets and a few songs. We will continue to work to preserve his memory and promote his work.