| Content | In reply to the letter of 20/8, Martinů puts his his ballet ON TOURNE! at their disposal for the German stage. Should the storyline present a problem, he gives them the right to make any changes. Mr Heinrich Burkard asked him to send in a small opera (about 20 minutes long) for the upcoming Baden-Baden festival. BM would like to have recommendation of someone who might write a libretto. Also, there is one thing which he would like them to clarify. It follows from what they have told him that they have many works to print, which is why they are not able to guarantee that they will publish some of his compositions. It has been 4 years since he signed the contract with them, but they have only published a few of his works to this day. It is not advantageous for him to be contractually bound with them if they do not publish any of his compositions. He also perceives their contract as a hindrance when dealing with other publishers. With respect to their note regarding how much material they have to print right now, he has not exerted pressure on them so far, but at the same time, he cannot wait for them to print all the other works. It will not be particularly good for him to have his body of work divided between different publishers. As they know, his experience with official circles in Prague is not good and he is forced to seek publishers abroad. He writes them openly, assuming they know that their cooperation with him poses no risk to them – in spite of the information which they may have from Prague, his position abroad is stable and their cooperation cannot possibly bring any loss to them. He admits that he expected much more promotion and help from them. However, he has had to do all by himself so far. He hopes that the whole issue will be settled to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. He sends them THE KITCHEN REVUE and JAZZ SUITE for chamber orchestra, two parts of which were performed at Baden-Baden. The whole suite is for the Colonne Orchestra in Paris. If they have not received any reviews concerning the performance of his PIANO CONCERTO No.1, he asks them to let him know so that he can send them to them. His STRING QUINTET will be performed by Roth-Quartet at the festival of Mrs Coolidge in Pittsfield on 20 September. His Symphony [RHAPSODY] will be premiered in Boston in November and performances in New York, Providence, Washington, and in Paris in the spring of 1929, will follow. Do they have any reviews of LA BAGARRE? It is going to be performed in Stockholm, Brussels and Paris. He will inform them of the exact date after he discusses it with Václav Talich. He will be in Prague in February 1929, currently he is working on a film-opera. He will send them the storyline later on. He asks them to let him know if he can send it in French because he is struggling with the translation. DUO FOR VIOLIN AND VIOLONCELLO No.1 has already been published and will be performed in Paris. |