Description
0:01 - "Alla Marcia", No. 25
2:37 - "Andante triste", No. 26
World's premiere recording of the entire "30 Miniatures for double bass and piano" by František Hertl (1906-1973). Performed by Božo Paradžik (double bass) and Annalisa Orlando (piano)
Today on April 18th, on the day when the composer was born (in 1906), we will celebrate his lifetime and life work with the release of final three videos of 30 miniatures. So we begin the anniversary year: on this day in 2026 will be 120 years since František Hertl was born (and yes, I am preparing something spectacular for 2026, but it is another subject).
This cyclus of 30 short gems (in total more than 90 minutes of music) remained for almost 50 years in a box full of manuscripts. I have started with publishing PDF music almost exactly 10 years ago, so it is a big moment.
Alla Marcia is an especially cool composition. It has that specific rhytmical energy of the march at the beginning, followed by a charming, cheerful theme in piano. After several more genuine ideas, including three bars of ragtime, Alla Marcia has an attractive and furious ending. This pair of miniatures is in an usual order: fast/slow. And while the ballads among "30 miniatures" are usually real gems, beautiful and interesting slow pieces, in my personal opinion "Andante triste" is the only among 30 miniatures that doesn't keep up with the otherwise really high musical value of the other 29 short pieces. This one seems to be composed on Hertl's routine, in a less inspirative moment. Well, nobody is perfect...
With a purchase of the PDF music, you will automatically support our charity project. Until the beginning of 2022, whole turnover was 100% forwarded to composer's daughter, who lives on a very tight budget in Prague. Since beginning of 2022, a minor part of the turnover has been used to partially cover the costs of this video production. The miniatures can be purchased either as "six-packs" (for example No 1-6, 7-12 etc) or full edition, all 30 miniatures as a set.