Martinů dedicated his Five Madrigal Stanzas for violin and piano to Albert Einstein, professor - and later Martinů's colleague - at Princeton University. The composer followed Einstein's scientific work with interest; in his own words, "I shall never understand it, but I enjoy the reading immensely. [...] I continue to study privately in that field. Fortunately, the further I proceed with it, the more I get lost, the less I understand it, but I am overtaken by curiosity and an enthusiasm for finding out, for knowing something that I will probably never know". Martinů's taking into consideration the technical limitations of that celebrated amateur violinist whose scientific work and philosophical approach to life he so admired did not, nonetheless, have any effect on the artistic qualities of these madrigal stanzas. Unfortunately, we have no means of verifying the truth of the anecdote that tells how Martinů, when asked how the great Einstein played his composition, hesitated a while and then replied, "Relatively well".
Aleš Březina, Martinů: Works for Violin and Piano 2, © 1999 Supraphon Music a.s