Gramophone Awards 2009 - Best Recital

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On 11 December 2008 the sold-out Rudolfinum in Prague heard for\nthe first time Three Fragments from the Opera Juliette, a work\nwhich ranks among Martinu’s most significant and which the composer\nhimself highly esteemed. Martinu originally composed the opera\nJuliette in Czech. However, so as to ensure appropriate publicity\nfor the work, he wanted – already armed with a French libretto – to\nplace extracts from the most relevant scenes on French radio. Yet\nThree Fragments from the Opera Juliette (The Key to Dreams) was not\nbroadcast on the radio and had to wait some 70 years for its first\nperformance. This was entrusted to the safe hands of that most\ncompetent of conductors Sir Charles Mackerras, who has devoted a\ngreat part of his life to discovering Czech music and promoting it\non world stages.

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After experiencing Magdalena Kožená in the role of Juliette, it\nis hard to imagine another star singer in her place.

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On this CD, Three Fragments is supplemented by the orchestral\nsuite from the same opera, which sensitively treats the music of\nall three Acts and corresponds with the “dreamy logic” of the\noriginal.

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Thanks to Martinu’s dreamily beautiful music and the remarkable\nengagement of all the interpreters, Sir Charle’s December\nleave-taking of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra was transformed\ninto a joint triumph.

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