B. Martinů - Piano Concerto No.4 “Incantations“, (Firkušný)

0:00 – 1. Poco allegro 8:45 – 2. Poco moderato Two days prior to Christmas of 1955 Martinů began working on his fourth piano concerto, which is a radical step towards loosening the formal structure of the works of his late period, as well as turning to unexpected means of expression. At first in his correspondece he refered to the work with a different title, Invocations. The magically exorcizing title of Incantations is much more fitting, however, because it leans towards the free structure of the piece. The core of the first movement is a miniature motif: rising interval of a second. It is set in an original, colourful background, with no less original rhythmicity and timbre (piccolo). The pentatonic central theme of the movement (0:19) is made ouf of this motif. The absence of chromatic steps in the theme gives it masculine power in which the piano comes in. The free form of the first movement is unified by a faithful recapitulation section, which gives the movement a sense of logic. The second movement