Ladislav Kubík: Sinfoniettas Nos. 1 & 3 – Piano Concerto No. 3

Sinfoniettas Nos. 1 & 3 · Piano Concerto No. 3

Ladislav Kubík (born in Prague in 1946) had been following his own and very personal path since the 1974s, when he became a prizewinner at the UNESCO International Composers' Tribune (XNUMX in Paris with Lament of the Warrior's Wife  and the Piano Concerto No. 1). Kubík is influenced both by the West European avant-garde and of course by his Slavic background.

His music combines sonic exploration and formal experimentation with a keen sense of the melodic and emotional. This artistic connection is clearly evident in Kubíks violin concerto, his ballet song of man as well as in more recent works (which he only wrote after his naturalization in the United States), e.g. B. Triptych about Kafka, Symphony No. 2 "Jacob's Well" – and especially in the Songs of Zhivago, drawing on Pasternak's poetry.

Also Kubík's works for solo instruments and chamber ensembles (Elegy in Two Movements, Trio »Metamorphoses«, Sonata Portrait) reveal a focus on structural detail and a special flair for programmatic reflection and passionate expression.

The Symphony No. 1 (1998) was composed for the Cleveland Chamber Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Andrew Rinder, who conducted the 1998 premiere. Chamber music and orchestral composition come together in this beautiful work. Each of the 19 performers is treated as a soloist, and each part is heard with great clarity in this short one-movement work. However, Kubík also managed to give the ensemble the appearance of a much larger orchestra.

Donald Rosenberg, a well-known music critic of the Cleveland Plain Dealers, wrote: "Although an intimate ensemble of only 19 players performs, the atmosphere created ranges from aggressive sounds to playful passages to ethereal sighs. Kubík builds luminous highlights with meticulous craftsmanship. Each phrase sounds like an imperative elaboration of the previous one. Traces of Berg's lyricism and Schönberg's structural mastery can be found in Kubík's bold and very personal style.«

Concerto No. 3 for piano, orchestra and electronics, in memory of Bohuslav Martinů (2010): This new, large-scale work was written by Kubík to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martinů's death. Like Kubík, Martinů was a Czech composer with decidedly cosmopolitan influences.

During his long and creative career, Martinů lived in France, the United States (where he moved after Hitler came to power), and Switzerland. In his Piano Concerto, Kubík shows his admiration for Martinů through three recorded quotations: Two from Martinů's Piano Concertos No. 5 »Fantasia Concertante« and No. 4 “Incantations” (both appearing in Kubík's second movement) and one from the final passage of Martinů's 6th Symphony (heard in Kubík's Epilogue).

The three quotes are not played by the live orchestra, rather they are sound recordings with slight electronic modifications. This creates an ethereal effect because Martinů's music resounds from the hall and creates a special dialogue with the orchestra. In fact, there is an impression as if the live musicians seem to communicate with the past and directly involve Kubík Martinů.

This effect is particularly evident when the work is performed in a hall that has a 5.1 surround system. A trained pianist, Kubík still has a strong bond with his instrument. Even in passages where Kubík builds bold and complex textures, the solo instrument retains its original character of rich color and breathtaking moments of deep immersion.

The three-movement Symphony No. 3 »Gong« for mezzo-soprano, mixed choir, orchestra and electronics was composed for the Prague Premieres Festival and premiered there in 2008. The first movement is purely orchestral (large orchestra plus alto saxophone), while the central second movement (Gong) Mezzo-soprano and electronics interpret one of Rilke's very own poems.

In the third sentence (A god can...) Kubík unites all interpreters for the interpretation of Rilke's Sonnet No. 3 from Part 1 of the Sonnets to Orpheus. The electronics (central in the second movement) are now restrained but carry symbolic meaning, based on the sound of gongs and human voices, capturing the abstract meaning of Rilke's unique poetry in which pure sound conveys meaning.

In her review in A Tempo Revue Eva Reiserova writes: »Kubíks Symphony No. 3 is a work of captivating effect with perfect macro and micro structures. The combination of the composition with the text and the mystical and hymn-like character of the music corresponds perfectly to the atmosphere of Rilke's time and shows how deeply Kubík penetrates the heart of Rilke's wonderful poems.«

The three works on the present recording draw their inspiration from different sources and times. But although they refer to our musical and poetic predecessors, they give us a genuinely contemporary and fresh perspective on the music of our time.

Michael Buchler