Martinu: The Symphonies 1-6 album review Hrusa is a persuasive guide to this distinctive and likable cycle

"Written in exile between 1942 and 1953, all but one of Bohuslav Martinu's six symphonies were commissioned or premiered by US orchestras, yet each exudes the vigorous spirit of the composer's Czechia homeland. Too often neglected, their first appearance on Deutsche Grammophon is a red-letter day for these distinctive, eminently likable works."

"Martinu's idiosyncratic sound world incorporates orchestral piano and bristling percussion, while his neo-classical pastoralism is regularly subverted by a bustling rhythmic energy. Tempos accordingly are brisk but never rushed, while crisp, crunchy textures are clean and meticulously detailed."

"The First Symphony's sunny syncopations emerge from diaphanous billows of sound, contrasted with a funereal largo keening strings over subterranean tolling piano and a jaunty finale that ends in a rush of adrenaline. The lyrical, ultimately exuberant Second Symphony channels Dvorak, whose Requiem is quoted in the reflective finale of the otherwise troubled and turbulent Third."

"The untrammelled waters of the ebullient Fourth are juxtaposed with the lucid, more measured Fifth. Premiered in Prague, the latter expresses the composer's keen sense of nostalgia. The mercurial mysteries of the Sixth, subtitled Fantaisies symphoniques, conclude one of the 20th-century's most original cycles."

Martinu’s six symphonies were written in exile between 1942 and 1953, with most commissioned or premiered by US orchestras. Each symphony retains a vigorous spirit tied to Czechia through idiosyncratic orchestration and neo-classical pastoral elements. The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, founded by musicians displaced from Bohemia and Moravia, brings a deep connection to the music’s origins. Jakub Hrusa draws out orchestral piano, bristling percussion, crisp textures, and brisk yet controlled tempos. The First Symphony balances sunny syncopations, funereal string keening over tolling piano, and an adrenaline-charged finale. The Second channels Dvorak, the Third includes a quoted Requiem in its reflective finale, the Fourth is ebullient, the Fifth is lucid and nostalgic, and the Sixth concludes with mercurial, original fantasy-like mysteries.

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