Volume 2 of pianist Giorgio Koukl’s complete Martinu cycle begins with the three books of Puppets, composed between 1912 and 1924. These charming miniatures aim to depict the commedia dell’arte stock characters, who strut their stuff to caricatured dances that range from salon waltzes to roaring-’20s jazz. Popular song and dance assertively inform the six pieces comprising Film en miniature, and might best be described as the missing link between Prokofiev and Poulenc. The same might be said about Les bouquinistes du Quai Malaquais, although its stark unison octave phrases and passages utilizing register extremes bear Martinu’s individual stamp.
The four-movement Butterflies and Birds of Paradise represents Martinu’s most tuneful, accessible style, while the composer’s own brand of impressionism informs both Fifth Day of the Fifth Moon (a haunting work cast in pentatonic pastels) and Spring in the Garden’s concluding piece.
As with Volume 1, there’s plenty to admire in Koukl’s technically solid and stylistically perceptive performances. In pieces that rely on rhythmic propulsion, Koukl tailors his tempos as if he were playing for dancers as opposed to piano competition jurors. He also plays more lyrical, introspective selections well, although I marginally prefer Emil Leichner’s more delicately shaded and articulated way with The Shy Puppet and the Sick Puppet (Supraphon). Similarly, Leichner’s gracious and intimate traversal of The Sentimental Puppet’s Waltz markedly contrasts to Koukl’s brisker (and decidedly unsentimental) approach. Yet on the whole, Koukl’s overall artistry and wider color palette, helped by Naxos’ superior engineering, take top honors.
