Sinfonietta Giocosa for Piano & Chamber Orchestra - Bohuslav Martinů
Channel: Sergio Cánovas
Date: 25/11/2022

Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Václav Smetáček. Martin Knor as the pianist.

I - Poco allegro - Poco meno - Allego (più mosso) - Tempo I - Meno - Tempo I: 0:00
II - Allegretto poco moderato: 7:52
III - Scherzo. Allegro - Moderato, scherzando - Poco vivo - Più vivo - Trio. Allegro moderato - Allegro: 13:21
IV - Andantino (moderato) - Allegro - Cadenza. Vivo - Meno - Moderato - Tempo I: 20:24

Martinů's Sinfonietta Giocosa was composed between October and November 1940, while he was trying to obtain a visa to flee from the war. When Germany invaded France in 1940, Martinů and his wife were among the panicked refugees clogging the Paris train stations in an effort to get out before Hitler's troops conquered the city. They made it only into southern France. Ruled by the Vichy puppet government established by the Germans, this part of the country was then still unoccupied and it was possible to get out.

The process was difficult and perilous. They were then living in an unheated apartment and as winter approached, Martinu's hands were often numb as he wrote this music. He had to travel several times on uncomfortable trolleys between Aix-en-Provençe and Marseilles to get official interviews or get documentation, but finally he was granted a visa. He later claimed that the light-hearted tone of the Sinfonietta Giocosa was a result of learning they had received permission to go to America. The work was premiered in the USA on March 16 of 1942, performed by Léon Barzin conducting the National Orchestra with Germaine Leroux as the pianist.

The first movement is structured in a modified sonata form. It opens with a neoclassical main theme, presented by strings with a certain ironic touch and followed by the piano. A more lyrical second theme is presented by the piano as well. The development section that follows transforms the material through a baroque-like counterpoint. A deliberate evocation of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. The recapitulation brings back the main themes in their original forms, but the development is soon resumed. A bright coda ends the movement.

The second movement very freely written. It begins with a playful motive on the woodwinds and strings, contrasted by a lyrical one on the flute. These motives are combined and manipulated during the central development, featuring substantial solos of the piano. The music grows more intense and dense in its textures. There is no standard recapitulation section, instead directly leading us to a small but cute coda.

The third movement is a scherzo in ternary form. It opens with an energetic rhythmic theme presented between piano and orchestra, leading to an intensely chaotic climax. The trio begins with a more lyrical and clear second theme, introduced in a chamber-like woodwind quintet. The piano performs a brief solo before the trio theme is remembered. A transition leads us to the recapitulation of the scherzo. A lively coda ends the movement.

The fourth movement is structured in a concert sonata structure. It begins with a slow, ballad-like introduction from the strings. The main allegro begins with a rhythmic main theme, introduced by the piano in a virtuosic manner. A lyrical second theme is presented by the woodwinds, infused with a certain folkish flavour. After a grand climax, we don't find the usual development section, being substituted by a substantial cadenza for solo piano. The lively main theme reappears, leading us to a bright and clear coda.

Picture: "Harlequin and Columbine" (1911) by the Czech painter Bohumil Kubišta.

Musical analysis mostly written by myself. Sources: https://bit.ly/3EMZYGi and https://bit.ly/3gocRxb

To check the score: https://bit.ly/3XjSXE6