Lost Beauty
František Hertl (1906-1973)
Sonata for Double Bass and Piano (1946)
František Černý (1861-1940)
Danse des Satyres
Karel Reiner (1910-1979)
Sonata for Double Bass and Piano (1957)
František Hertl
4 Pieces for Double Bass and Piano (1967)
František Černý
Nocturnes & Intermezzo
Szymon Marciniak (double bass), Jongsuk Kim (piano)
rec. 2024, Reitstadel, Neumarkt i.d. Oberpfalz, Germany
Solaire SOL1018 [75]
This programme is based around František Hertl, who was a was a Czech double bassist, composer and conductor who in the 1930s became principal bassist of the Czech Philharmonic and later of the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Prague. He turned more to composing and conducting after 1950 and had a distinguished and influential career as a teacher renowned for raising the technical standard of double bass playing, creating pedagogical literature still in use today.
His Sonata for Double Bass and Piano is full of delightful lyricism and is decidedly romantic in idiom. This is probably Hertl’s best-known work for double bass and comes from a time in which he was very much in the centre of Czech musical life. The opening Allegro moderato is confidently thematic and, as throughout the work, there is a superb interplay between the instruments, with plenty of interest in the piano part and a good deal of harmonic interest. The central movement is a lovely Andantino which is songful and filled with a feeling of nostalgia without becoming overly sentimental. The final Rondo has an Alla Polka subtitle, but also goes into some gorgeously smoochy salon-style writing in some sections. This to my ears is the most Czech sounding of these movements in the crisp alertness of its dance moods and its mildly anarchic and, towards the end, virtuoso narrative wanderings.
Two decades later and we have Hertl’s 4 Pieces, which are among his last works and certainly his last major piece for the double bass. These are individual character pieces and defined as miniatures, though at over four minutes each there is time enough for some substantial music making. There are hints of Martinů in the syncopations of the Preludium to this suite, though the opening and conclusion have moments of striking atmosphere and a gently rhapsodic mood. The second piece is a Burleska, again with some ‘jazzy’ rhythms and a playful lightness that goes along with the more introvert character of this music when compared to the Sonata. There is a Nokturno which takes us on quite an emotional journey, and the suite concludes with a lively Tarantella which is both skilfully written and performed, the momentum of the outer dance sections giving way to a soft-centred and heartfelt central aria.
František Černý was one of the early students of the Czech double-bass school that was set up in the mid-19th century by Franz Simandl. It was Černý who recognised Hertl’s talent and persuaded him to take up the bass instead of the violin. The pieces recorded here, the quite extensive Danse des Satyres and Nocturnes & Intermezzo are representative of a technical proficiency that wears its abilities lightly, putting an emphasis more on melodic expressiveness rather than virtuoso fireworks, though there are sections in the Danse des Satyres that are as much concerto as they are chamber music. Nocturnes & Intermezzo is more salon in style, giving Szymon Marciniak some opportunity for some fruity portamento slides.
Karel Reiner was a survivor of Theresienstadt and the only Jewish composer from the group in that concentration camp to emerge, only to find himself in a Communist occupied homeland that temporarily put a stop to his more avant-garde stylistic inclinations. The Sonata for Double Bass and Piano, dubbed ‘conservative’ amongst Reiner’s oeuvre,is dedicated to František Hertl and was possibly a response to the publication of Hertl’s Sonata. The central movement is a funereal Poco grave that acts as a potent fulcrum against which the livelier outer movements form a symmetrical balance. This is more edgy than Hertl’s music while keeping a tonal centre and plenty of content to get your teeth into – moving more towards Prokofiev to Hertl’s Rachmaninov, if we’re to conjure even remotely suitable comparisons.
This is an excellent programme and superbly performed. The balance of the double bass is nicely placed against the piano to create an admirable transparency, and with plenty of detail in the recording. Szymon Marciniak’s intonation is spot on, and a casual listener might think they were listening to a cello for much of the time. For fans of the double bass and of unusual chamber music in general this is a fine release and deserving of anyone’s attention.
Dominy Clements
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