NOSPR String Sextet / The Czech Spirit - NOSPR

The Czech musical spirit at its finest in chamber music. Antonín Dvořák wrote his String Sextet in A major in just two weeks, in May 1878, between preparing the piano version of the Slavonic Dances and working on the Slavonic Rhapsodies. This makes it abundantly clear what was on his mind at the time. The second movement features a captivating Dumka, inspired by Ukrainian musical tradition, while the finale bursts with the irrepressible energy of the Czech Furiant. Choosing to draw on folk rhythms proved a wise decision: the Sextet quickly travelled the world, prompting the question: who was this composer from the beautiful city of Prague?

Bohuslav Martinů inherited from Dvořák the mantle of Czech national composer – and bore it with such pride that, after Hitler's occupation of Czechoslovakia, he was forced to flee the Nazis and seek refuge in America. His String Sextet had been written earlier, in 1932, and is a work of remarkable maturity, with a depth of reflection worthy of Brahms, despite its lighter, neoclassical aesthetic.

Adam Suprynowicz

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