Description
Hungarian Festival: Kodály's Háry János Suite, Liszt Rhapsodies & More – Mátyás Antal, Naxos (CD)
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Product Details
- UPC: 4891030501423
- Catalogue Number: 8.550142
- Brand/Label: Naxos
- Composers: Zoltán Kodály, Franz Liszt, Jenő Hubay, Hector Berlioz
- Ensemble: Hungarian State Orchestra
- Conductor: Mátyás Antal
- Soloist: Ferenc Balogh, violin (Hubay's Hejre Kati)
- Release Year: 1988 (recorded 15–17 April 1988)
- Genre: Classical – Orchestral/Hungarian Repertoire
- Country of Producing: Germany
Product Features
- Format: Audio CD, DDD (fully digital recording)
- Total playing time: 67:42
- Cover artwork: Czárdás, painting by Károly Lotz; photograph by Károly Szelényi
Overview
This is a genuinely well-chosen program of Hungarian-flavored orchestral favorites, anchored by Kodály's Háry János Suite — a piece that turns Hungarian folk idiom into something both witty and grand, from the deadpan "Viennese Musical Clock" to the mock-heroic "Battle and Defeat of Napoleon." Around it, three of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies (in Franz Doppler's orchestration) bring the same folk-inflected drama in purely orchestral form, building from brooding minor-key openings into the kind of rhythmic acceleration that made these pieces crowd favorites from the moment Liszt wrote them. Hubay's Hejre Kati, featuring Ferenc Balogh as violin soloist, adds genuine czárda atmosphere with a soloist genuinely stepping into the spotlight rather than blending into the orchestra. Berlioz's Rákóczy March closes things out — proof that this specifically Hungarian march tune had international reach well beyond Hungarian composers themselves. Recorded at Budapest's Italian Institute under Mátyás Antal, this is a strong, purpose-built collection of orchestral Hungarian folklore for anyone who wants Kodály, Liszt, and Hubay's most accessible national-flavor pieces on one disc.
Interesting Facts
- Kodály's Háry János Suite is drawn from his comic opera about a Hungarian soldier's tall tales, and the "Viennese Musical Clock" movement remains one of the most instantly recognizable pieces in the Hungarian orchestral repertoire.
- The Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies here are heard in Franz Doppler's orchestral arrangements, since Liszt originally wrote them for solo piano.
- Hubay's Hejre Kati is a showpiece written specifically to evoke the atmosphere of a Hungarian czárda (tavern), featuring extended violin solo writing.
- Berlioz's Rákóczy March is his orchestration of a Hungarian folk march tune, made famous internationally through its inclusion in his dramatic symphony "The Damnation of Faust."
- This recording was made at the Italian Institute in Budapest, with two different engineering teams handling different portions of the programme.
Track Listing
Kodály: Háry János Suite
- The Fairy Tale Begins – 3:52 · 2. Viennese Musical Clock – 2:03 · 3. Song – 5:27 · 4. The Battle & Defeat of Napoleon – 4:08 · 5. Intermezzo – 5:04 · 6. Entrance of the Emperor & His Court – 2:58
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies (coll. Franz Doppler)
- No. 1 in F Minor (originally No. 14) – 11:23 · 8. No. 2 in D Minor (originally No. 12) – 10:45 · 9. No. 6 in D Major (originally No. 9) – 11:02
Hubay: Hejre Kati – Scene from the Czárda, Op. 32 No. 4 (Ferenc Balogh, violin)
- – 6:22
Berlioz: Rákóczy March
- – 4:38
Publishers
Naxos, part of the Naxos Music Group, recorded at the Italian Institute, Budapest (producer Zoltán Hézser, engineers György Kovács and Péter Kardos, music notes Keith Anderson). Distributed by MVD Music and Video Distribution GmbH, Unterhaching/Munich, Germany.
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