Piano Concertos Nos.2, 4, etc : Kolinsky, Ashkenazy / Basel Symphony Orchestra

Bohuslav Martinu:
Overture
Piano Concertos No. 2
Piano Concertos No. 4 "Incantation"
Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca

Sinfonieorchester Basel
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
Robert Kolinsky, piano

This CD release pays tribute to Bohuslav Martinu on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. Star conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy leads the Sinfonieorchester Basel through a selection of masterpieces of this great Czech-born composer, who died in Switzerland in 1959.

The Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 "Incantation" feature acclaimed pianist and Martinu expert Robert Kolinsky as soloist. U.S. journalist David Hurwitz once called the latter piece, "one of the 20th century's most exciting and unusual scores for piano and orchestra." Also included are the Overture H. 245, as well as Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca, which remains one of Martinu's most performed works. This orchestral trilogy draws its inspiration from Martinu's 1954 visit to Arezzo and exudes the composer's impressions of the basilica San Francesco with its famous frescoes by Piero della Francesca.

This recording was produced in association with the Internationale Musikfesttage B. Martinu in Basel, Switzerland, and is released to coincide with the 15th festival's opening. The booklet contains expert liner notes by Ales Brezina, director of the Bohuslav Martinu Institute in Prague, and rare photographs published with kind permission by the Bohuslav Martinu Centre in Policka. ( ONDINE )