Viktor Kalabis - Duettina, Chamber music, Diptych

This release of Kremer’s recordings of important works by Kalabis underscores the composer’s importance in 20th-century classical music. These new recordings come at a time when the world confronts rising authoritarianism and the undermining of freedom from tens of millions of people. The lives of Zuzana and Viktor were immeasurably impacted by the ruthless regimes that governed their country for 50 years, first the Nazis and then the Communists. The experiences are evident in the three compositions that Gidon Kremer and his colleagues play.

Yet, Kalabis was a romantic with a passionate love for the place where he was born and where he did so much of his work, Bohemia. He and Zuzana had the opportunity to flee Prague as the Russian army invaded to crush the “Prague Spring” in 1968, but Viktor simply could not imagine being able to compose anywhere else than in his beautiful Bohemia. This passion also is evident at times in these recordings.