Martinů wrote his Variations on a Slovakian Theme in March 1959 at Pratteln in Switzerland. The folk-song Kde bych já veděla (‘If I had known’) provides the theme, heard from the cello after the short piano introduction. The syncopations of the first variation and the intensity of its central section are followed by a version that makes use of a repeated rhythmic motif and double-stopping. The third variation opens with solemn piano chords, followed by the cello in melancholy intensity, the fourth variation offering a contrast as a scherzo, before its final rhetoric. The set ends with a vigorous final derivative of the theme, now with asymmetric rhythms, in true Slovak style.

Harry E-W

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