Suite Die blaue Blume

Suite Die blaue Blume
Suite for orchestra from ‘Die blaue Blume’ (The Blue Flower) – ballet music

Introduction
The ballet Die blaue Blume, based on a scenario by the Slovenian choreographer Pino Mlakar, was composed by Frank Martin in 1935-1936 for a ballet music competition organised by the Zürcher Stadttheater and the Schweizerische Tonkünstlerverein. A shared second prize was given to Frank Martin and Walter Müller von Kulm, the first prize was not awarded. Martin’s complete ballet music survives in manuscript and was (re)discovered in the spring of 2021 in the archive of the Frank Martin House in the Bollelaan in the Dutch town of Naarden. According to Martin his work remained unperformed because Mlakar considered the music too difficult and too modern.
Read the article Die blaue Blume – a ballet in a desk drawer (ENG/NL) about the rejection of this ballet.
Frank Martin created an orchestration for two pianos and orchestra of an approximately 15-minute selection from Die blaue Blume. This Danse de la peur was premiered in Geneva on 28 June 1944. Edmond Appia conducted and Martin’s good friends Madeleine and Dinu Lipatti were at the pianos.

Year of composition

1936

Duration

22'

Scored for

chamber orchestra: 2 2 2 2 - 2 2 0 0 - timp. - strings
orchestrated (2025) by the Dutch composer Bart Visman, commissioned by Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Association L’Odyssée Frank Martin (Genève).
I. Lied, Tanz und Gänsemarsch
II. Der Geiger
III. Die blaue Blume
IV. Tanz der Betrachtung der nächtlichen Natur (Der Flötenspieler)

In 2024 the complete ballet Die blaue Blume has been orchestrated for large orchestra by the Swiss composer Nicolas Bolens: 2 2 2 2 2sax - 2 2 3 1 - perc. - harp - acc. - cel. - 2pno - strings

Publication information

Deuss Music

Premiere

World première: Lausanne, 30 April 2025. Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne; Thierry Fischer, conductor

Recordings (selective list)

  • The performance of the Suite Die blaue Blume by Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Thierry Fischer in Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 3 May 2025 can be listened to via NPO Klassiek - NTR ZaterdagMatinee (Dutch public broadcaster for classical music).

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