The Czech Rhapsody for violin and piano, a virtuosic composition in one movement, is dedicated to the celebrated violinist Fritz Kreisler, a friend of Bohuslav and Charlotte Martinů. In a letter written on July 10th to Miloš Šafránek, Martinů says of his work on this Rhapsody that "it is a form I thought I would no longer be writing in, and I am finding it rather difficult". As is demonstrated in another letter to the composer's friend Frantisek Rybka, Martinů had originally intended to write this work for violin with orchestral accompaniment. To a certain extent, then, the existing piano part is really rather more of a piano reduction. It is difficult to imagine Kreisler, who by that time had reached the age of seventy, reckoning with the exceptionally difficult technical feats contained in this piece, which include double stops at the interval of a tenth as well as rapid runs and large intervallic leaps. The central key of the Czech Rhapsody is B-flat major, which appears in Martinů's later works as a symbol of hope and happiness.
Aleš Březina, Martinů: Works for Violin and Piano 2, © 1999 Supraphon Music a.s