Search - Zoltan Kodaly, Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic :: Zoltan Kodaly: Theater Overture / Concerto for Orchestra / Dances of Marosszék / Symphony in C - BBC Philharmonic / Yan Pascal Tortelier

Die-hard Kodaly fans only

Brett A. Kniess | Madison, WI | 04/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kodaly, along with Bartok, is well-known to have wandered rural Hungary and recorded folk music, learning the musical traditions of gypsy's and rural communities; the influence of Hungarian folk music in his own compositions is overtly apparent. While his Hary Janos Suite, Peacock Variations, and Galanta Dances are his most well known today, Chandos provides a CD of his lesser known symphonic works: Symphony, Concerto for Orchestra, Theater Overture, and the better known Marrosszek Dances.



The 15-minute Theater Overture was originally conceived as the overture to Hary Janos. The overture has many varied sections, but a unifying theme of a rising 5th in syncopation, adds cohesion. A glimpse of a folk dance appears with woodwind tendencies and rhythmic accompaniment. More compelling however, is the 16-minute Concerto for Orchestra. In 5 sections, the fast and bouncy opening, again the 5th is the recurring motive, is used in Sections 1, 3, and 5, while the Largo appears in 2 and 4. The sound is typical Kodaly fare; but what makes this unique, is the unusual voicings; he pits the full ensemble against combinations of soloists or sections. The solo string ensemble in the Largo very much sounds like a chamber group, and the brass chorale evokes some modalism. The faster portions utilize soloists and sections too, but with virtuosity and for mere moments of time. Concerto for Orchestra has nice melodies and harmonies, but it is the orchestration that is high in interest.



Dances of Marrosszek, like Dances of Galanta, is a sort-of fantasy of 4 or 5 tunes from the district of Marrosszek in Transylvania. A lumbering melody opens the work, and reappears between each of the following melodies. Full of tunefulness, the melodies explore the pastoral to urban dances from Romania. Drawing from less specific folk sources is the three movement Symphony. The opening allegro movement has bushel baskets-full of ideas; Kodaly masks any folk influences with a more abstract symphonic approach, but some of the rhythmical undertones propel the piece toward dance. The second movement Andante, with its melancholy woodwind meanderings and minor-mode melody, are beautiful, but also evoke Hungary's folk sounds. It is the orchestration once again, that sets this movement apart, with odd pairings and ensemble work; textures range from Romantic to Impressionistic to Medieval. Kodaly is at home in the final Vivo movement, with vitalic energy and optimism. Tuneful melodies, the opening joyous horn melody, for example, and infectious rhythms, bring the work to a close at 27 minutes.



Compared to Kodaly's famous works, these lesser-known compositions show why they are not so well known. The Theater Overture and Symphony lack a little in inspiration, although there are great moments in the Symphony. Dances of Marrosszek fares better with tunes, and the Concerto for Orchestra is a unique and interesting work, using interesting orchestral techniques. The performers are excellent; the BBC Philharmonic under Yan Pascal Tortelier perform with great alacrity and commitment. The orchestral voices sound good in the resonant hall, and the Chandos sonics aid this; and with 71+ minutes of music, the program of the CD is well received with no lack in literature. This disk is for die-hard Kodaly fans, but not really anyone else. Great performances, the music is hit and miss."

Excellent performances, closely matching Dorati's nostalgia.

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 07/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an highly enterprising CD. Unlike the Dances of Marosszek, the other works on this disc are relatively little known (and recorded no more than a handful of occassions). Like the overture to Nielsen's opera "Maskarade", the Theater Overture (to Hary Janos) convey, with great effectiveness, the entire scheme & blueprints of the theatrical work & conductors were right in treating the Overture as an independent piece. The Overture is remarkably vivid & virtuosic, somewhat inheriting pinches of the Offenbachian wittiness & sparkle. Equally inventive is the Concerto for Orchestra (1941). As with Myaskovsky's 21st Symphony & Sir William Walton's Scapino, Kodaly's Concerto was written by commission of the Chicago Symphony (which was celebrating it's jubilee anniversary). Interesting enough, both works of Myaskovsky & Kodaly share one common trait: variations in tempi (Myaskovsky's with six contrasting sections, Kodaly's with five), with the slow sections especially meditative, lucid, and to an extent melancholic. But, where Myaskovsky's instrumentation is straightforward, Kodaly uses solo instrumental groups against larger orchestral forces & adds to the appeal of this work. The Symhpony in C Major (1961) is tuneful & attractive, thematically coherent & well argued, but not among Kodaly's stronger works. The first two movements are compelling & the second is meditative & undeniably Hungarian in its sense of nostalgia (a homage to the past of sorts). However, the finale is a bit empty, with the thematic ideas not as strong & memorable as in the previous two movements (or in his works of the 1920s through the 1940s).Yan Pascal Tortelier & the BBC Philharmonic are wholly at home with these works. Their performances were vivid as well as convicted & enthusiasm is in every way noticeable throughout (especially in the Theater Overture & the Concerto). What I also find pleasing is the feeling behind their playing. Not only is there enthusiasm, but there's joy & admiration of the works & of Kodaly behind these recordings & I'm especially awed at their sense of not treating the works less than substantial. Indeed, the works painted a more rounded picture of Kodaly & Yan Pascal Tortelier & his team never ran the risks messing up the picture (as in the recordings of Dorati & even Arpad Joo).Well advocated & well recorded, as always from Chandos."