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Article: Reviews of new classical music releases.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- July 25, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MARTINU "String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2; Three Horsemen" Martinu Quartet (Naxos 8.553782) Grade: B
Bohuslav Martinu was a Czech composer who lived from 1890 to 1959. Barely escaping the Nazi occupation, then deterred by the Communist takeover, he spent his last 20 years as an exile, in Portugal, France, Italy, the United States and finally Switzerland.
Listen to the first two of his seven numbered string quartets, and you'll wonder why they're never heard in the concert hall. In the case of the First Quartet (1918), imagine a melange of Dvorak, Janacek, Faure, Debussy and Ravel. These may seem odd bedfellows, but Martinu's synthesis yields music of ...