Miklós Rózsa - Orchestral Works Vol. 2 (Rumon Gamba)

Information

Composer: Miklós Rózsa

• Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song, for violin & orchestra, Op. 4
• The Vintner's Daughter - Variations on a French Folk Song, Op. 23a
• Notturno Ungherese, Op. 28
• Cello Concerto, Op. 32

Jennifer Pike, violin

Paul Watkins, cello

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Rumon Gamba, conductor

Date: 2011

Label: Chandos

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Review

Miklós Rózsa, born in Budapest, was one of the most gifted of all the composers who moved from his homeland to Hollywood to write music for films (95 of them!). He was a natural melodist and scored for orchestra with great flair, and the Hungarian flavour of his music gave it a special edge and character.

Rózsa was especially impressive in variations, as the diverse and colourful Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song demonstrates. It features a concertante solo violin – the seductive Jennifer Pike, who is equally impressive in both the virtuosity and sweet lyricism of her solo role. The Vintner’s Daughter (12 variations on a French folksong) was originally written for solo piano and it was Eugene Ormandy who commissioned the orchestral version, with its imaginative and highly contrasted instrumental colouring and tempi. The Notturno ungherese again features a gentle solo clarinet at its opening but, spiced with a pair of passionate climaxes, it is a truly volatile Hungarian rhapsody.

The disquieting Cello Concerto was inspired by the composer’s meeting with his compatriot, János Starker, who aided its composition. The work is comparatively austere but emotionally gripping. The first movement demands (and receives) passionate virtuosity; the darkly coloured central Lento broods intensely and hauntingly; the dancing, moto perpetuo finale is dissonantly aggressive, with frenzied writing for soloist and orchestra alike, framing a hauntingly mysterious yet tranquil centrepiece. These are four first-rate works by a still neglected composer, marvellously played and recorded.

— Ivan March

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Miklós Rózsa (April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer, best known for his nearly one hundred film scores. Born in Budapest, he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and achieved early success with both concert and film music. The latter brought him to Hollywood, and Rózsa remained in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1946. During his Hollywood career, he received three Oscars for Spellbound (1945), A Double Life (1947), and Ben-Hur (1959), while his concert works were championed by such major artists as Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, and János Starker.

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Rumon Gamba (born 24 November 1972) is a British conductor. He studied music at Durham University, and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1998, he joined the BBC Philharmonic as its Assistant Conductor, and later became Associate Conductor. He left the orchestra in 2002. Gamba was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2002 to 2010, and chief conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2015. In January 2022, Gamba became chief conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. He has made over 50 CDs of for the Chandos Records label.

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