Sinfonia Concertante No. 2, H. 322 came into being in 1949. Bohuslav Martinů dedicated it to the Swiss patroness of modern art, Maja Sacher, wife of conductor Paul Sacher. Bohuslav Martinů’s meeting with Maja Sacher represented one of the most important moments in both his personal life and work. Almost two hundred compositions were written by prominent 20-century composers at Paul Sacher’s suggestion. The close friendship between Paul Sacher and Martinů resulted in five significant compositions, including Sinfonia Concertante No. 2, which was premiered by Sacher conducting the Basel Chamber Orchestra in December 1950.
The scoring for concerto instruments as well as the central key of this composition is an homage to Joseph Haydn, whose composition of the same title enchanted Martinů at a concert in Paris in the late 1930s. For years Martinů searched for Haydn’s score in vain. When he finally located it in the USA in the late 1940s and studied it thoroughly, his first impression was confirmed. He decided to write a similar composition in which he would express his affirmation of the happy and quiet life. Thus one of the last works of Martinů’s inclination towards Neo-Classicism was born, a work full of optimism and cheerfulness. It represents a return to the concerto compositions of the 1930s, but their style is enriched here by his experience from working on five symphonies. The tempo sequence of the first and third allegro movements with the slow middle movement corresponds to the custom of the solo concert and at the same time follows the Haydn pattern. Martinů evoked the spirit of Classicism by using some compositional techniques: perfect imitation of instruments of minor themes and the distinct return of a reprise in the final movement, giving the impression of the classic sonata form. The alternation of the orchestra and solo instruments of the solo quartet in the style of the Baroque concerto grosso is rendered effectively as well. Of all subsequent compositions by Bohuslav Martinů, the closest to the Sinfonia concertante in terms of style, color of sound, and mood is Sinfonietta La Jolla, H. 328 for piano and chamber orchestra written a year later.
Jana Honzíková a Sandra Bergmannová, program of the Bohuslav Martinů Festival concert, December 10, 1999