Album
Marek Kozák, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Robert Jindra
Kovařovic, Bořkovec, Kaprálová: Forgotten Czech Piano Concertos
Digital services
Catalogue Number: SU 4337-2
Published: 8th March 2024
Genre: Orchestral
Format: 1 CD
Karel Kovařovic (1862-1920) – Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 6 (1887). Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940) – Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 7 (1935). Pavel Bořkovec (1894-1972) – Piano Concerto No. 2 (1949)
Marek Kozák – piano, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Robert Jindra
It would very much seem that the 19th- and 20th-century Czech piano concerto repertoire begins and ends with Dvořák and Martinů. The present recording, however, serves to prove that this is far from being the case. It contains three piano concertos that have been – undeservedly – overlooked. Vítězslava Kaprálová wrote the Piano Concerto in D minor, characterised by brilliant instrumentation and an engrossing solo part, at the age of 20 as her graduation work. The premiere, which she herself conducted, met with great critical acclaim. In 1937, the young composer moved to Paris to study with Bohuslav Martinů. Just a year later, Kaprálová was lauded at the International Society for Contemporary Music festival in London, which she opened conducting the BBC Orchestra performing her Military Sinfonietta. In 1940, when she was just 25, the gifted artist’s life and career were sadly terminated by a serious illness. At that very age, Karel Kovařovic created his one and only piano concerto. A pupil of Zdeněk Fibich, he would later on primarily gain recognition as a conductor and serve as director of Prague’s National Theatre Opera (1900-1920). Kovařovic’s Piano Concerto in F minor affords the soloists great scope to display their virtuosity. Pavel Bořkovec, a pupil of J. B. Foerster and Josef Suk, wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2 after World War II. At the time a mature artist, as a teacher he cultivated a new generation of major Czech composers (Petr Eben, Jan Novák, Vladimír Sommer, etc.). The main protagonist of the present album, the pianist Marek Kozák, who has garnered accolades at a number of competitions (Zurich, Bolzano, Bremen, Prague, and elsewhere), has a penchant for exploring little-known and forgotten landscapes, as attested to by this revelatory recording.
Three piano concertos worthy of rediscovery
Marek Kozák – piano, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Robert Jindra
It would very much seem that the 19th- and 20th-century Czech piano concerto repertoire begins and ends with Dvořák and Martinů. The present recording, however, serves to prove that this is far from being the case. It contains three piano concertos that have been – undeservedly – overlooked. Vítězslava Kaprálová wrote the Piano Concerto in D minor, characterised by brilliant instrumentation and an engrossing solo part, at the age of 20 as her graduation work. The premiere, which she herself conducted, met with great critical acclaim. In 1937, the young composer moved to Paris to study with Bohuslav Martinů. Just a year later, Kaprálová was lauded at the International Society for Contemporary Music festival in London, which she opened conducting the BBC Orchestra performing her Military Sinfonietta. In 1940, when she was just 25, the gifted artist’s life and career were sadly terminated by a serious illness. At that very age, Karel Kovařovic created his one and only piano concerto. A pupil of Zdeněk Fibich, he would later on primarily gain recognition as a conductor and serve as director of Prague’s National Theatre Opera (1900-1920). Kovařovic’s Piano Concerto in F minor affords the soloists great scope to display their virtuosity. Pavel Bořkovec, a pupil of J. B. Foerster and Josef Suk, wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2 after World War II. At the time a mature artist, as a teacher he cultivated a new generation of major Czech composers (Petr Eben, Jan Novák, Vladimír Sommer, etc.). The main protagonist of the present album, the pianist Marek Kozák, who has garnered accolades at a number of competitions (Zurich, Bolzano, Bremen, Prague, and elsewhere), has a penchant for exploring little-known and forgotten landscapes, as attested to by this revelatory recording.
Three piano concertos worthy of rediscovery
Reviews
“This beautifully played and recorded disc has an inescapable poignancy to it; a time capsule of periods in history where the sun shone before obscurity beckoned.”
The Sunday Times, April 2024
“This is a good collection of three Czech concertos and if I favour other performances that doesn’t lessen its attractive qualities. The orchestra plays with sensitivity though without perhaps the necessary level of weight for the Kovařovic and Robert Jindra directs well though I rather wish he’d been more dynamic in the Bořkovec. The notes are good, as is the recording…”
MusicWeb International, April 2024
“…these concertos provide rich musical rewards as well as casting light on a period dominated by ‚big beasts‘ such as Dvořák and Martinů… The soloist, Marek Kozák, is a superb advocate for these widely differing works, providing thoughtful and persuasively idiomatic interpretations.”
BBC Music Magazine, May 2024
“Marqués par des influences diverses, ces concertos jamais dénués d’idées ni d'habileté s'écoutent avec un plaisir réel… On a du mal à imaginer meilleure traduction musicale que celle de Marek Kozák. Et même si l'orchestre pragois aurait pu mettre davantage d'impact dans certains accents, il accompagne son soliste avec un bon goût constant!”
Classica, November 2024
|
Karel Kovařovic
Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 6
|
|||
| 1. | I. Allegro affettuoso | 15:53 | |
| 2. | II. Larghetto | 07:19 | |
| 3. | III. Vivace. Scherzando | 08:43 | |
|
Vítězslava Kaprálová
Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 7
|
|||
| 4. | I. Allegro entusiastico | 10:10 | |
| 5. | II. Largo | 03:32 | |
| 6. | III. Allegro | 08:48 | |
|
Pavel Bořkovec
Piano Concerto No. 2
|
|||
| 7. | I. Agitato | 06:55 | |
| 8. | II. Poco lento | 07:25 | |
| 9. | III. Vivace | 06:41 | |