Cello Concerto No. 1
Bohuslav Martinů:
CELLO CONCERTO NO. 1, H 196 I–III
Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition III/1/10
Edited by Giselher Schubert
BA 10584-01, cloth bond score (25,5 x 32,5 cm)
· Three versions of the Cello Concerto No. 1 in one volume of the complete edition
· Second version of the concert published for the first time ever
· Editor's detailed critical report and foreword (in English and Czech) describing the complicated genesis of the work
· Nine pages of facsimiles of important sources
Bohuslav Martinů's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 exists in three versions, which differ significantly from each other mainly in terms of orchestration and instrumentation, and to a much lesser extent in terms of modifications to the solo part. The formal structure and themes of the composition are more or less identical.
This volume includes all three versions and provides mostly new information, some of which has not been published before. The first version, composed in Paris, is presented here for the first time in its original form from 1930. The second version from 1939, written in Vieux-Moulin, was never published during Martinů's lifetime, and this edition makes it available for the first time. The score of the third version of the concerto, on the other hand, was published immediately after its completion in Nice, apparently as early as 1955. In accordance with the composer's wishes, cellist Pierre Fournier carefully revised the cello part.
The foreword traces the complicated genesis of all three versions of the concerto, their publication history, and reflects on their reception. Selected facsimiles of the autograph score document the composer's cuts and complicated passages in the edition, and also contain the original solo part of the first version with the composer's revisions for the third version. All collected musical sources relevant to the edition, including their evaluation, are recorded in the Critical Report.