The Seven Arabesques for violin and piano were composed to a commission from the Parisian music publisher R. Deiss. Their didactic nature is suggested by their subtitle "Rhythmic etudes", which gives no hint, however, as to the excellent qualities of this occasional piece. These seven miniatures, which were intended for performance on either violin or cello, acquaint the young instrumentalist with the basic melodic and rhythmic procedures of music in the interwar period and systematically prepare the student for learning the major works of the modern concerto repertoire. These Arabesques are among the most valuable and most frequently played pieces within their genre, and they are quite on par with the very best didactic pieces composed by Bartók. The "Adagio" (Arabesque no. 5) has a tone quite new in the music of Bohuslav Martinů; here we have a refined and very authentic nostalgia that is manifest in the broad, lyrical melody of the solo instrument and which promptly supplants all the "misteriosos" and "tranquillos" of his early works.
Aleš Březina, Martinů: Works for Violin and Piano 2, © 1999 Supraphon Music a.s