Works of Bohuslav Martinů / The American Way

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06 Apr 2021 – 30 Apr 2021 The event takes place online

Works of Bohuslav Martinů / The American Way

Curious to hear the American take on Martinů? Explore an online mini-series of performances by leading American musicians recorded especially to celebrate 80 years since the arrival of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů in New York.

When living in Queens, Martinů loved to wonder around the leafy neighbourhood, submerged in the solitary night walks, working out music scores in his head and getting lost in his thoughts. Now we have a chance to get comfortably lost in his music too. And on top of that, we will get to know talented artists who offer their own renditions of Martinů’s works.

David Cerutti and Molly Morkoski are playing Martinů’s Sonata for viola and piano, H. 355, composed in 1955. The recording was made in Advent Lutheran Church in Manhattan on March 18, 2021.

David Cerutti is co-principal solo violist with the innovative New York-based Orchestra of St. Luke’s and works regularly with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. A former member of the Smithson Quartet has performed at numerous music series and festivals, including The Classical Tahoe Festival, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Newport Festival, Aspen, Aix-en-Provence, Mostly Mozart NY, Tanglewood etc.

The dazzling American pianist Molly Morkoski performs as both soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Europe and Japan. Molly made her Carnegie Hall solo debut in 2007, and has been presented in New York City’s Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Miller Theatre, (le) poisson rouge, Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall, Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket (Denmark), Conservatoire de Strasbourg (France), Suntory Hall (Japan), Teatro Nacional (Santo Domingo) and the United States Embassies in Nice and Paris etc.

Martinů composed the Sonata for viola in New York in November and December 1955 for the legendary American violist Lillian Fuchs whose playing he greatly admired, especially her beautiful warm tone, infallible technique and great musicality - Lillian was not only a violist, but also played the piano and violin and composed music herself. Their artistic affection was mutual - as a founding member of the New York Musicians Guild, Lillian was one of the most frequent performers of Martinů's chamber music. The formally very relaxed composition is written in the late style of Martinů which he himself often referred to as fantasy.

In addition to Lillian Fuchs, her brothers also devoted themselves to music - Harry Fuchs was a cellist and a long-time member of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Joseph was a renowned solo violinist and, like Lillian, a prominent teacher of several generations of American musicians. Both daughters of Lillian Fuchs continue the family legacy of musical excellence. The cellist Barbara Stein Mallow teaches in New York in addition to her concert engagements, and her sister Carol Stein Amado is the first violinist of the Amado String Quartet. Both daughters also played with their mother in the Lillian Fuchs Trio.

Bohuslav Martinů composed and dedicated his Three Madrigals for violin and viola, H. 313, to Lillian and Joseph Fuchs after hearing them perform the Mozart Duos at the Town Hall in New York City. Today, you can enjoy a performance by Liuh-Wen Ting (viola) and Gergana Haralampieva (violin), recorded in the Czech Center New York Gallery on March 17^th, 2021. The piece consists of three parts: I. Poco Allegro, II. Poco Andante, III. Allegro. Enjoy!

Gergana Haralampieva is a Bulgarian-American violinist and educator. Gergana received her Bachelor’s Degree from Curtis Institute of Music in 2016 and her Master’s Degree from New England Conservatory in 2018. Gergana was a member of Ensemble Connect at Carnegie Hall from 2018 to 2020. Gergana currently channels her creative pursuits as a co-founder of Long Island Chamber Music.

Violist Liuh-Wen Ting was a member of the award-winning Meridian String Quartet and co-founder of Ensemble Meme with Molly Morkoski. A proponent of contemporary music, she made her solo debut at Merkin hall for the Interpretation series in 2001 and has premiered, recorded solo, chamber works for labels such as Naxos, Atlantic, Capstone, Albany and more. She has appeared at international festivals such as Ostrava Days, Prague Spring Music Festival, and Primavera en la Habana electro- acoustic music festival. She is a member of the Orchestras of St. Luke’s, American Composers Orchestra, and a faculty member of the Mannes School of Music prep division.

Martinů composed the piano sonata for Rudolf Serkin, a famous American pianist born in Cheb in the territory of today's Czech Republic. Serkin, widely regarded as one of the most important Beethoven performers of the 20th century, was a child prodigy, studied composition in addition to the piano (with Arnold Schoenberg, among others) and made his soloist debut with the Vienna Philharmonic at the age of twelve. He met Martinů in Basel, where both artists often stayed since the 1930s. The piano sonata is one of the top works of the so-called Martinů fantasy period in which the composer achieved a very distinctive synthesis of all his earlier stylistic development, from the classics of Czech music through French impressionism, jazz of the 1920s to the sound world of post-war classical music.

Another masterpiece by Martinů is the Sonata for piano, H.350, performed here by the young and talented American pianist Isabel Keleti. Isabel is a NYC-based pianist. She completed a Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance at Mannes. In 2019, she won two international competitions in China: the ROXE MTSY International Music Competition in Xi’an and BIMFA Solo Piano Competition in Beijing.