The collection of fourteen works known together as “Puppets” plays an exceptional role in the catalogue of early works by Bohuslav Martinu (1890–1959) as the composer’s first pieces which were no longer mere gauche attempts at writing music; they soon found a publisher and, thanks to their enduring popularity particularly among young performers, were published in numerous editions. (Their established numbering, which the composer manifestly accepted, however, does not correspond to their chronology – they appeared in precisely the reverse order; thus Puppets III is the earliest and Puppets I the latest).

All three books of Puppets – which were written gradually between the years 1912 and 1925 and which, apart from their titles, differ from one another both in their distinct aesthetic points of departure and in their progressive piano setting – are being published by Editio Bärenreiter Praha in completely new, revised editions edited by Ales Brezina .

These Urtext editions, with their relatively detailed preface describing the circumstances of the advent of these works, are founded on the latest research and evaluation of all known and now accessible sources which the editor presents and clarifies in depth in the critical commentary for the second and third book of Puppets. Thus the third book also contains Puppets’ Ball (No. 4) in two separate versions – the newer version according to the first edition, in which Martinu was most probably involved himself and which brings, in addition to other changes, completely new music in the middle section; and the earlier version based on the autograph. Thanks to the witty musical ideas and the composer’s empathy for children’s world, Puppets enjoyed great popularity among its performers from the very first edition.