Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20070730 | Frank Martin was born in Geneva in September 1890, and died in Holland in 1974. He was very much a modern European and a resolutely individual composer, independent of the musical ideologies and schools of the past century. Donald Macleod visits his home in Naarden, Holland, now a museum to his life and work, and meets his widow Maria Martin. Piano Quintet (1st mvt) Iain Burnside (piano) Britten-Pears Ensemble Quatre Sonnets a Cassandre Barbara Rearick (mezzo-soprano) Mass for Double Choir The Sixteen Harry Christophers (conductor) Trio on Irish Folk Tunes (excerpt) Grieg Trio. |
| 02 | 20070731 | Donald Macleod turns his attention to the music Frank Martin wrote in the 1930s, a decade during which he really hit his stride as a composer. He talks to Martin's 92-year-old widow Maria and features one of his greatest works Le vin herb退. Air (Four Short Pieces for Guitar) Michalis Kontaxakis (guitar) Danse de la peur Paul Badura-Skoda, Sebastian Benda (pianos) Orchestra della Svissera Italiana Christian Benda (conductor) Ballade for alto saxophone, piano and orchestra John Harle (saxophone) Ronald Brautigam (piano) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Riccardo Chailly (conductor) Le vin herb退 (excerpt) Scharoun Ensemble RIAS Chamber Choir Daniel Reuss (director). |
| 03 | 20070801 | Donald Macleod turns his attention to music Frank Martin wrote during World War II. Talking to Martin's widow, Maria, he discusses the very different soundscapes of Der Cornet and In Terra Pax. The former paints a bleak portrait of life as a soldier, the latter a joyous celebration of the end of the war. Cantata for the 1st of August The Sixteen Harry Christophers (conductor) Der Cornet (excerpt) Marjana Lipovsek (contralto) Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra Lothar Zagrosek (conductor) Petite Symphonie Concertante Symphony Orchestra of North German Radio Gunter Wand (conductor) In Terra Pax (excerpt) Della Jones (contralto) Roderick Williams (baritone) Brighton Festival Chorus London Philharmonic Orchestra Matthias Bamert (conductor). |
| 04 | 20070802 | Donald Macleod explores the years immediately following World War II, when life changed dramatically for Frank Martin. He met his wife Maria and moved to Holland where he would live for the rest of his life. His music flourished in this new environment, as commissions came from the great Swiss conductor Paul Sacher and there were collaborations with great musicians such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Come unto these Yellow Sands (Songs of Ariel) The Norwegian Soloists Choir Grete Pedersen (conductor) Six Monologues from Everyman Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Frank Martin (conductor) Concerto for Seven Winds, Timpani, Percussion and Strings Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Riccardo Chailly (conductor) Der Sturm (Epilogue) |
| 05 LAST | 20070803 | Donald Macleod discusses the concluding chapter in Frank Martin's life, when he largely wrote sacred compositions, as well as works for some of his lifelong friends. Polyptyque (excerpt) Gottfried Schneider (violin) Munich Chamber Orchestra Hans Stadlmair (conductor) Piano Concerto No 2 Paul Badura-Skoda (piano) Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg Frank Martin (conductor) Et la Vie l'Emporta (excerpt) Claudine Perret (alto) Philippe Huttenlocher (baritone) Choir and Orchestra of the Gulbenkian Foundation Michel Corboz (conductor). |