1931 - 1939

1931 - Marriage with Charlotte Quennehen. Martinu is elected a regular member of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts. The suite from La revue de cuisine performed in the Concerts Cortot and immediately published by Leduc.

1932 - Completes the full-length ballet Spalicek (The Chap-Book) and also the String Sextet, which wins First Prize from the Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in Washington.

1933 - Premiere of Spalicek at the National Theater in Prague, followed by a production at the National Theater in Brno. The work earns Martinu a Smetana Prize.

1934 - Composes the operatic trilogy Hry o Marii (The Plays of Mary). Elected to the executive committee of the 'Societe Triton', a prestigious Parisian association for contemporary music. Premiere of the orchestral Inventions at the Venice Biennale.

1935 - Composes the radio operas Hlas lesa (The Voice of the Forest) and Veselohra na moste (The Comedy on the Bridge) for Prague Radio. The National Theater in Brno gives the premiere of Hry o Marii, for which Martinu receives a Czechoslovak State Prize. Rudolf Firkusny premieres the Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra with the Czech Philharmonic under Vaclav Talich.

1936 - Composes the operas Divadlo za branou (The Suburban Theater), premiered the same year at the National Theater in Brno, and most notably Julietta aneb Snar (Julietta, or The Key to Dreams), which he will complete in January 1937.

1937 - Meets the composer Vitezslava Kapralova, who will later become his pupil and lover. Composes the cantata Kytice (Garland) and also the Concerto grosso for chamber orchestra, which he dedicates to Charles Münch.

1938 - In March the premiere of Julietta at the National Theater in Prague. Composes a series of fine works including Tre ricercari for chamber orchestra, the Concertino for piano and orchestra, and the String Quartet No. 5. On the day of the Munich Accord (29 September) completes the Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani on commission for Paul Sacher.

1939 - On 1 September the Second World War breaks out. Martinu composes the Polni mse (Field Mass) for Czech volunteers in France.