Zuzana Růžičková: Cembalo

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The 20th century has brought about not only a new lease of life for the harpsichord but also an incredible wealth of compositions for the isntrument. In afterword to the cycle Microcosmos’ Bartók brings up the possibility of playing some of the compositions on the harpsichord. This is hardly surprising from an editor, connoisseur and admirer of François Couperin's. Bohuslav Martinů came across the harpsichord in Paris in about the year 1935. Invited or inspired by Marcelle Delacour, who was in charge of harpsichord teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris, Martinů was completely at home with the harpsichord. Without in any way changing his style or resorting, to travesties of Baroque or classical music, he created in the course of 1935, his 'first harpsichord period', first, 'Two Pieces for Harpsichord', and soon afterwards, a gem of the world harpsichord literature, his 'Concerto for Harpsichord'. The former are a kind of study for the 'Concerto'. The 'second harpsichord period' coincides with the finale of the composer's life which he spent as P. Sacher's guest near Basel, Switzerland. Inspiration there came from Antoinette Vischer, a harpsichordist of Basel. It was for her that Martinů composed his 'Sonata' in 1958. Peter Mieg is composers who paid systematic attention to the harpsichord. The cycle 'Pour le clavecin’ its three parts were also inspired by great performers - part 1 (Promenade) is dedicated to Antoinette Vischer, part 2 (Les malheurs de Sophie), to the Swiss harpsichordist Silvia Kind, and part 3 (Le voyage à Monfort) to Ralph Kirkpatrick of the USA. Jan Rychlík composed his 'Homaggi gravicembalistici' for Zuzana Růžičková at a time when the 'Early Music’ movement was only taking a foothold and when names like Pasquini, Farnaby, Seixas, Cabezón, not to mention Couperin, the uncle, appeared, at best, in textbooks of the history of music. Saddened over their forgotten work, Jan Rychlík, a brilliant and impressively erudite Czech composer, paid them homage in his series of imaginary portraits, in which he wittingly, without actually parodying their individual styles, uses the harpsichord with much resourcefulness. 'Aquarelles', op.No.53 of Viktor Kalabis, as their name suggests, already foreshadow a new individual conception of the harpsichord. These three compositions, for which inspiration came from the early spring landscape of South Bohemian lakes, bring out in full the colourfulness of the instrument, albeit aquarelle-type colourfulness. Preludio, Aria e Toccata, op.No.75, and is subtitled as 'I casi di Sisyphos' - The Labours of Sisyphos in view of Kalabis, the work could, indeed, be orchestrated. This is again an entirely new look at the harpsichord.