Copyright

Information for those interested in performing or other use of works by Bohuslav Martinu

 The copyright of extensive works by Bohuslav Martinu is executed by Bohuslav Martinu Foundation in Prague, which is entitled to do so according to the will of the artist's widow Charlotte Martinu.  Similarly, only  a little limited rights for the use of works by Bohuslav Martinu in Switzerland are owned by Bohuslav-Martinu-Stiftung, Elisabethenstrasse 62, Basel, Switzerland. This text does not apply for all such cases; therefore the consulting of the copyright organisation SUISA http://www.suisa.ch/ in Zuerich is therefore recommended. This exception only applies to use of Martinu works in Switzerland.

 Permission for particular uses of works by Bohuslav Martinu, especially concerning concert performances, can be obtained by means of copyright organisations or unions of authors. B. Martinu Foundation in Prague represents Ochranny svaz autorsky http://www.osa.cz/ (Authors' Union, further just OSA) which is contractually represented by similar institutions in most countries of the world. Therefore it is possible to address a local protective union in any country where the work is to be used (performed etc.) that will arrange all that is needed.  Such organisations also provide information about the rates charged in the particular country, as these do vary. The finances collected are gathered by OSA http://www.osa.cz/ in Prague and divided accordingly to a prearranged agreement between the author, publisher or the author of the text, modification etc.

 The conditions differ in the case of stage works (opera, ballet etc.) or when the work is to be used onstage. These include conversion to theatre performance, film, television or any other type of recordings. Similarly, broadcasts of any sort and conversion to any type of media, whther it be sound or image, is prohibited. In these cases it is necessary to approach the work publisher or the agency representing the work in their respective location; one of which can give the permission for the use of the work and negotiate the conditions on their own terms. Depending on the contract, some cases will require the approval of Bohuslav Martinu Foundation. The addresses are usually stated in the sheet music or performing materials. Their names and residencies - not always current - can be looked up in serious catalogues of Bohuslav Martinu works. Another easy way are queries on the website of Bohuslav Martinu Institute Prague.

 Conditions for performing material are similar. Publishers of stage and all other works, either rent these themselves, or by means of other publishers, or their contractual representatives all over the world, whose addresses for their particular country they also provide. These queries can be mediated by any serious classical music publisher, even if they are not concerned with Bohuslav Martinu works.

 In the Czech and Slovak Republics performing material for stage works by Martinu can be rented through the DILIA agency http://www.dilia.cz/. If the agency is not the direct owner, it is able to get them from their foreign publishers.

In the Czech Republic performing material  for other works can be obtained from the Czech Music Fund (Cesky hudebni fond - Pujcovna hudebnich materialu) if these are materials included in their own catalogue or materials of foreign publishers represented by the Czech Music Fund (this is not the case in the Slovak Republic where this depends on the publisher's representative). In the Czech Republic you can approach Editio Baerenreiter Praha, s s.r.o., http://www.editio-baerenreiter.cz/ for works they have published or works published by former Statni hudebni nakladatelstvi, n.p., Supraphon s.p., Editio Supraphon a.s. and also Baerenreiter Verlag, GmbH http://www.baerenreiter.com/ or ALKOR Edition in Kassel. As for works published in former PANTON, you can obtain these from Panton International Praha, s s.r.o., if they have been included into its listings. If not, the performing material are probably owned by the Czech Music Fund on the same address stated above. Panton Int. Praha can also provide materials of works belonging to Panton International Mainz, who in turn can order materials published by Panton Int. Praha from the rest of the world. This also applies to works published by B. Schott's Soehne, Mainz or Schott Musik International, Mainz http://www.schott-music.com/.

 Of course, one is not allowed to make any alterations to works by Bohuslav Martinu above the framework of common interpretation practice. Serious and legitimate intentions aimed at modifications, instrumentation of the work etc. or such use that was not meant by the author (e.g. a symphonic work as a ballet etc.) have to be approved by Bohuslav Martinu Foundation exclusively. The permission can be obtained exclusively from the publisher of the work who must be given the opportunity to express its recommendation. In the case of manuscripts, the approval can be applied for at the foundation.

(Many thanks to Geoff Piper for corrections in this text)