Symphony No. 5 (Martinů)

The Symphony No. 5, H. 310, is an orchestral composition by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.

History

The Fifth Symphony was composed from March to May 1946. Although Martinů initially spoke of dedicating it to the Red Cross, in the end the score was dedicated to the Czech Philharmonic, perhaps in anticipation of a return to his native land. Although this repatriation did not come about, the Fifth nevertheless is the only one of Martinů’s symphonies to have been premiered by a Czech orchestra: Rafael Kubelik conducted the Czech Philharmonic in the first performance, at the Prague Spring Festival on 28 May 1947 (Crump 2010, 317–18).

Instrumentation

The Fifth Symphony is scored for two flutes, piccolo, three oboes, three clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, bass drum, side drum), piano, and strings.

Analysis

The symphony is in three movements:

  1. Adagio—Allegro
  2. Larghetto
  3. Lento—Allegro

The general plan of the symphony does not adhere to the traditional form. Instead, Martinů said, it has a "more modern, better structure". This involves the alternation of slow and fast sections in all of the movements, and the symphony's most distinctive feature is its enlivenment by rhythmic devices (Šafránek 1965, 14).

Like the Sixth Symphony but unlike all the earlier ones, the first movement of the Fifth Symphony begins with a slow introduction that returns as a postlude at the end, creating a frame around the main structure. In this case, however, the adagio also is found in the middle of the movement as an interlude, where it is followed by a combination of recapitulation and new development (Evans 1960, 24–25; Crump 2010, 319).

The finale closes with a long passage in the minor mode, unlike any of the other five Martinů symphonies (Crump 2010, 349).

Discography

The 1955 monaural recording of the Fifth by Karel Ančerl was the first of Martinů's symphonies to be released commercially on LP. Ančerl recorded a stereophonic version for Canadian radio in 1972 (also released on LP), and a new studio recording in quadraphonic sound in 1977 was conducted by Václav Neumann as part of a complete traversal of the six Martinů symphonies.

References

Further reading

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