The Sonata for violin and piano No. 1 is the third of Martinů's five violin sonatas; he considered the first two to be juvenilia and did not authorize their publication or performance. It was composed at the very end of his "jazz period", which had also given rise to the ballet Kitchen Revue, H 161 (1927), the jazz-inspired operas and the orchestral works Le Jazz, H 168, and Jazz Suite, H 172 (both 1928). This is an agitated, provocative work, rhapsodically flamboyant, savagely beautiful, and the writing for both instruments is highly virtuosic. The focal point of this sonata is its expansive central movement with blues elements. The abundant use of solo cadenzas in both outer movements brings this work conceptually close to the solo concerto genre. This would appear to be Martinů's self-assured reaction to the great jazz-influenced musical works that had appeared shortly before, perhaps to Ravel's Violin Sonata, or else to Gershwin's American in Paris. The violin sonata No. 1 was performed not long after it was composed, by the composer's best friend Stanislav Novák with pianist Karel Šolc.
Aleš Březina, programme of the Bohuslav Martinů Festival's concert, 10. 12. 2003; Martinů: Works for Violin and Piano, © 1999 Supraphon Music a.s