Great Composers: Bohuslav Martinů

A look at an heir to the legacy of Dvořák.
This was a viewer request from KZbinr Chobaly Miller. See the current request queue at lentovivace.com....
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Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
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Music:
- Bohuslav Martinů: Piano Sonata, performed by Rudolf Firkušný [original upload: kQbNJjj8mlk]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
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Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information.

[@telephilia]

An underrated composer who seems to finally be getting his due.

[@alexbrockwell8158]

I would recommend the piece "Památník Lidicím" ("Memorial to Lidice"), which Martinů wrote in remembrance of a Czech village destroyed by the Nazis.

[@AvishekSubedi]

Music heals all the pain.

[@Mackeson3]

The general consensus is his name is pronounced "Martin-oo". One form of composition that greatly influenced his work was The English madrigal which he loved.

[@ClassicalNerd]

I don't speak Czech and based my pronunciation in this video on what turned out to be some incorrect information. Everything else is a accurate as I could make it.

[@Mackeson3]

@@ClassicalNerd "Mr. Martinu" kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6PMpaR-pLuSsLM An interesting interview with the great man (if a little short!)

[@gabrieru1983]

Great video as usual! By the way....Brian´s "Gothic Symphony" has no piano part, but his Symphony No 3 has two of them.

[@robbyr9286]

Thanks, this prompted me to start listening to his work. Just finishing first time through 'Czech Rhapsody'. Beautiful, interesting & moving work.

[@ShorkGamer]

I love Brians 1st huge Symphony. I heard it many times. An analysis of this work would be amazing!

[@weazelferret]

Keep up the good work, can you add "Nikolai Kapustin" to the request pool? Have you considered redoing some of your old videos like your video of Bach? It's still a good video but I think you've improved a lot over the years. He's one of the greatest composers of all time in my opinion, I think he deserves a more in depth video.

[@ClassicalNerd]

I don't do videos on living composers because their careers are still ongoing. And yes, I really do want to redo many of my early videos for matter of production quality if nothing else, but I've got so many requests to get through that those take up most of my time.

[@boazmecham5101]

now hes no longer living

[@ornleifs]

Great video - have heard of him but really did not know much about him. I'm always intrigued by the books behind you, how about a video about these books where you talk about them and what you got from them and if you would recommend them.

[@ClassicalNerd]

You're in luck: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3_PhIBvf7yXobs

[@ornleifs]

Well well well - thanks a lot.

[@Walter50]

Of course this kind of presentation is bound to be rather superficial, but to leave out Martinus wonderful contributions to the opera, Julietta, Les trois Souhaits, The Greek passion, just to mention a few of the most important, is really to much. Apart from that his name is pronounced with stress on the first vowel, not the last.

[@ClassicalNerd]

I don't usually mentioned specific pieces by name in these videos, unless I can illustrate a very specific point about a composer's style. The point here is to give interesting biographical information and synthesize it with more general points about a composer's stylistic significance and where they fit in the larger picture. That said, I'm perfectly happy to talk about a given specific piece of any composer if I get enough requests for it. As for the pronunciation, I've always heard it pronounced in the manner in which I said it in the video. Is Czech stress usually on the first syllable? If so, that'll be very handy going forward when I cover other Czech composers.

[@Walter50]

According to a number of friends of Martinu I have met , he is not only the most prolific 20-century composer of the first rank in the realm of opera but maybe also the most important. I have attended six different productions of Julietta this millennium and a number of other of his operas. During more than forty years of close contact with Martinus music I have almost never heard anybody pronounce his name the way you do. As far as I know in Czech the stress is always on the first syllable.

[@brendaboykin3281]

Thanx, Thomas🌹🌹🌹

[@AlexandreGuerraInput]

Fantastic!! Thank you very much!’

[@thekathal]

Could you do a video on Dupré and Duruflé?

[@ClassicalNerd]

I did a Duruflé video in October 2017: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmS6pKt-lpqEZrs. Dupré has been duly noted at lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html

[@thekathal]

Classical Nerd thanks very much, I can’t find many people who talk about organ composers

[@v.6297]

Please, talk about Villa Lobos

[@ClassicalNerd]

Villa-Lobos is currently 11th in the queue!

[@paulybarr]

Thanks for your channel. You begin by saying " I think that's how you pronounce his name", but, respectfully, you get them both wrong, by stressing the second syllables. The simple thing with Czech words, including names, is that ALL words are stressed on the first syllable ( although there may also be an additional stress or lengthening of other vowels within a word, such as in Janacek - though no English speakers get it right )- so his name is pronounced BOhuslav MARtinu.

[@eriksatie877]

Make a video about Leoš Janáček

[@ClassicalNerd]

Janáček has been added to the request pool.

[@eriksatie877]

Classical Nerd thanks 🙏

[@zacharydetrick7428]

nice Joel Sachs book

[@Jand1smas]

One person thinks Martinů had Asperger's Syndrome. Nonsense.

[@Jack-zu1hu]

Not just one. Why is it so hard to believe?

[@2906nico]

Sorry, but you couldn't have pronounced either of Martinu's names more wrongly! Good post, though.

[@lucieharasimberna2295]

His pronunciation of "Martinu" is quite well... trust me 🙂

[@PaulTroisfontainesgurne1382]

Ridicule de parler d’un musicien sans entendre sa musique. Connaissances superficielles

[@ClassicalNerd]

Dass ist nicht die Absicht dieses Kanals. Man kann viele Musik auf KZbin finden, aber nicht so oft wie eine Biographie eines Komponists. Auch finde ich interessant, dass Französischmenschen Probleme mit meiner Videos oft finden, besonders wann andere Leuten keine Probleme haben. Sie können Englisch verstanden, aber auf Französisch antworten ... und dass ist warum, ich auf Deutsch antworten: kein besonderer Grund.

[@zacharydetrick7428]

This channel is an excellent starting point for someone who wants to look up and listen to the compositions afterwards, as it provides context.