In this thesis I have studied composer Bohuslav Martinů’s biography with his musical style and thoughts and analyzed his First Sonata for Flute and Piano. The purpose of this thesis is to bring less known but significant and productive Martinů to light with the help of his biography and flute sonata. My own interest in Martinů arose from the expressive qualities of his music. I chose this sonata because I found it challenging to practice and I wanted to learn more about the composer who I was not familiar with before. In the sonata I concentrated especially on transitions inside the three movements while in search for a way to deeper interpretation of Martinů to give the most convincing artistic performance of the piece.

It turned out that the knowledge I gained from this work affected my approach and views on Martinů’s music and I came to notice that I have built a strong interpretation of the sonata, now with a wider backround to support it.