Zoltán Kodály - 'Háry János' Suite; Dances of Galánta & Marosszék (Iván Fischer)

Information

Composer: Zoltán Kodály

• Dances of Galánta
• Táncnóta
• Dances of Marosszék
• Gergely-járás
• Instrumental excerpts from the Singspiel "Háry János"
• Túrót eszik a cigány
• "Háry János" Suite

Budapest Festival Orchestra

Iván Fischer, conductor

Date: 1999

Label: Philips

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Review

Comparative listening has rarely been more pleasurable, and I can report straight away that Ivan Fischer and his Hungarian band join the most august company in this wonderful repertoire. As both sets of dances amply demonstrate, Fischer’s Budapest Festival Orchestra is not one whit less virtuosic than either Ormandy’s dazzling Philadelphians or Ferenc Fricsay’s exemplary Berlin RSO (whose marvellous mid-1950s versions for DG have recently returned sounding better than ever on an Originals compilation), and its impassioned playing melds an earthy physicality (just listen to those strings really dig into Kodaly’s accents), tangy exuberance and improvisatory flair to consistently telling effect. Add to the mix Fischer’s wittily observant direction (an abundance of affectionate rubato in the opening section of the Marosszek Dances especially, allied to a generous quotient of ‘gipsy’ slides from the strings elsewhere), and the results are irresistible.

Similarly, this new Hary Janos Suite is an immensely engaging affair. After a spectacularly good introductory ‘sneeze’, Fischer sees to it that Kodaly’s great arcs of melody are truly espressivo cantabile as marked (and listen out for the cellos’ richly drawn counterpoint at 0'57''). It’s followed by an unusually propulsive, chipper ‘Viennese Musical Clock’ and affectingly gentle ‘Song’ (a less heart-on-sleeve view than Fricsay’s, and – praise be – no spot-lit cimbalom either). Certainly, Napoleon’s battlefield antics are hilariously depicted (splendidly bolshy trombones), while Fischer’s thrusting ‘Intermezzo’ vies with Szell’s classic Cleveland reading in its joyous swagger (and what disarming poise these artists bring to the delectable central portion). Moreover, for all the giddy festivities of the brassy ‘Entrance of the Emperor and his Court’, Fischer still manages to extract plenty of ear-burning detail (up till now, for instance, I’d never properly registered the horns’ arresting harmony at 1'08''). It was also an imaginative idea to include five miniatures from the original Singspiel (these are, of course, programmed separately from the suite, and in ‘The two gipsies’ Fischer himself shares fiddling duties with Gabor Takacs-Nagy). Last but not least we get three choral offerings from 1925-9, which are delivered with captivating freshness and charm by the two admirable children’s choirs here.

So, a peach of an issue, complemented by an irrepressibly vivid and wide-ranging Philips recording. Will this terrific partnership now give us the Peacock Variations and Psalmus Hungaricus, please?

— Andrew Achenbach

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Zoltán Kodály (16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a prominent Hungarian composer. He was also an important figure who contributed heavily to music education in Hungary. As a composer, Kodály created an individual style that was derived from Hungarian folk music, contemporary French music, and the religious music of the Italian Renaissance. His notable works, many of which are widely performed, include Psalmus Hungaricus (1923), the opera Háry János (1926), Marosszék Dances (1930), Dances of Galánta (1933), Te Deum (1936), Concerto for Orchestra (1941), Symphony in C Major (1961), and chamber music.

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Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer. He studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest, then went on to Vienna to study conducting with Hans Swarowsky and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. In 1983 Fischer founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra, with which he introduced many innovations and educational projects. In the past Fischer was Music Director at Kent Opera, Opéra National de Lyon, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He is also active as a composer and as opera director. His CD recordings for Channel Classics received many prizes.

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