Martinu: Symphonies Nos.1-6

Martinu: Symphonies Nos.1-6

• Sinfonia n.1 H 289 (1942)
• Sinfonia n.2 H 295 (1943)
• Sinfonia n.3 H 299 (1944)
• Sinfonia n.4 H 305 (1945)
• Sinfonia n.5 H 310 (1948)

Onyx presents the first complete CD cycle of Martinu s symphonies, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jirí Belohlávek. These works, which are a major contribution to 20th century symphonic literature, are still undervalued. Spanning the years surrounding the Second World War, they capture the turmoil, hopes and fears of the composer and his homeland a homeland that suffered unimaginable cruelties under the Nazis. At the end of the war, Martinu was the only major Czech composer of his generation to have survived. Throughout these sometimes-turbulent works, the irrepressible Czech spirit survives.