Martinu Nonet

The common denominator of the recordings of these three virtuoso concertos is the name of the soloist. In 1932 František Hanták, still a student, was called up by Václav Talich to assume the post of first oboe of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Hanták was concurrently a member of Czech Nonet and later on also performed with the Czech Wind Quintet and the ground-breaking ensemble Ars rediviva. Following on from the previous CD comprising concertos by Mozart, Richard Strauss and Martinu (SU39552), this album features other gems from Hanták’s discography in Supraphon’s archives: the legendary 1951 recording of Kramár’s Concerto in F major, the “Haydn” concerto (with the yet to be clarified question of its authorship), with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Mozart’s lovely Sinfonia concertante, K 297b, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Václav Smetácek (1965).