Zoltán Kodály - Háry-János-Suite; Psalmus hungaricus (Ferenc Fricsay)

Information

Composer: Zoltán Kodály

• Háry János Suite
• Marosszéki táncok (Dances of Marosszèk)
• Galántai táncok (Dances of Galanta)
• Psalmus Hungaricus, Op.13

Ernst Haefliger, tenor

Chor der St. Hedwig's-Kathedrale

RIAS Kammerchor

RIAS Kinderchor

Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

Ferenc Fricsay, conductor

Date: 1961; 1954; 1953

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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Review

This shatteringly authoritative dics shows us Ferenc Fricsay's unforgettable conducting at ist brilliant ebullient best. As DG's notes espouse, Fricsay was completely at home conducting two of his outstanding compatriots namely Bartok and Kodaly. This batch of recordings fills an unaccountable void in the Kodaly discography and the reissue should stand as a timely reminder of the grandeur and eloquence that permeate this magnificent music. I warmed immediately to the incredulity and fantasy of the 'Hary Janos' Suite, a clockwork cornucopia of bizarre sounds and mystical dances culminating in a headlong rush of blistering Hungarian frivolity.

The 1961 recording is clear and crisp and here one cannot fail to touch Fricsay's emotive music making just a couple years away from his untimely death. The two Dances are earlier mono recordings and they shine out for the brilliant sonorities that Fricsay was able to coax out of his Berlin players. It seems that each and every instrumentalist is a virtuoso in his own right with some perplexingly daredevil work from the strings in the dashing conclusion of the "Marozzek' Dances.

The same could be said of this 'Psalmus Hungaricus', thrilling dashing and ebullient are the catchwords here, sometimes the polyphony is utterly amazing. Ernst Haefliger sings with real panache and authority and once again the orchestra play their hearts out for their conductor. DG's remastering proves extremely lifelike and the sharp mono recordings provide a thrillingly clear soundstage. And the authority of Fricsay's Kodaly can never be denied. This issue can safely be said to be the central recommendation for these works and it also proves to be a fine memorial to the genius of Ferenc Fricsay.

— Gerald Fenech

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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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Ferenc Fricsay (9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. Born in Budapest, his teachers included Hungary's most famous composers: Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernő Dohnányi and Leó Weiner. Fricsay spent much of his time from the 1950s onward in Germany as conductor of the Bavarian State Opera, the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic, recording for the Deutsche Grammophon record label. He was known for his interpretations of the music of Mozart and Beethoven, as well as that of his teacher Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály.

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