Martinů’s time in America had begun hesitantly and uncertainly in 1941; after five years in the country he had transformed his situation. He had composed not only his first five Symphonies, but some of his finest works in other genres too. His long list of concertante works was extended with two splendid additions in 1943: the Concerto for Two Pianos (H292) and the Second Violin Concerto (H293). The following year saw the production of two major chamber scores – the Second Piano Quintet (H298) and the Third Violin Sonata (H303). In 1945, he completed his Second Cello Concerto (H304) and wrote one of his most charming and often-performed contributions to piano literature – the three-volume Etudes and Polkas (H308). He had arrived in the country with only a handful of scores. There were no laurels for him to rest upon, but thanks to his own diligence and inspiration he had been able to build up a new American repertoire of works which soon made him one of the most frequently performed composers in the land. Many commissions came his way, and three of them resulted in smaller orchestral works written around the time of the Symphonies – two occurring amongst the clutch of five Symphonies, and another in the gap separating them from the Sixth.

Památník Lidicím (‘Memorial to Lidice’), H296

The solemn and imposing Memorial to Lidice is without question the best-known of these slighter pieces. It was written in response to one of the worst atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis in the Second World War, set in train in September 1941 with the appointment of SS Officer Reinhard Heydrich as the military governor for the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Heydrich was notably tougher and more sadistic than his predecessor, and the Czechoslovak Government in exile, led in London by Edvard Beneš, took the decision to assassinate him. On 27 May 1942 he was attacked while driving through the District of Holešovice in Prague. His assailants were two Czech resistance fighters, Josef Gabčik and Jan Kubiš, who had been trained in London. Heydrich survived the attack but died from an infection in hospital a few days later, on 4 June. Hitler ordered his replacement to bring the killers to justice by whatever means.