Although he established no stylistic school, we find Martinů’s methods reflected in the work of other composers. This program pairs two of his chamber works with those of his peers and successors.

Witold Lutosławski draws on the folk traditions of his Polish homeland in a number of early works, the last of which was the Dance Preludes, his “farewell to folklore.” Both the Russian-born Alexander Tcherepnin, Martinů’s friend in interwar Paris, and Jaroslav Ježek, another Czech exile in wartime New York, share his folk-inflected pianistic invention. The late Chinese-American composer Chou Wen-chung blends Eastern and Western traditions in works like the Suite for Harp and Woodwind Quintet, while avant-garde Czech musician Iva Bittová integrates popular idioms with East European sounds to create her “own personal folk music.” There are echoes of Martinů in the rhythmic drive and rich timbral variety of Joan Tower’s Petroushskates as well as in the bold eclecticism of American icon Frank Zappa, who enjoyed hero status during Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, receiving the title of “Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture, and Tourism” from the new Czech leadership.

Preconcert talk by Richard Wilson
Performers include: Iva Bittová, vocals and violin; Alex Sopp, flute; Danny Driver & Andrey Gugnin, piano; Austin Wulliman, violin; Thomas Mesa, cello