Rózsa Orchestral Works, Vol 1
Rózsa’s exuberant off-screen music played with gusto by the BBC Phil
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Miklós Rózsa
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 11/2008
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
Stereo
Catalogue Number: CHAN10488

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(3) Hungarian Sketches |
Miklós Rózsa, Composer
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Miklós Rózsa, Composer Rumon Gamba, Conductor |
Hungarian Serenade |
Miklós Rózsa, Composer
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Miklós Rózsa, Composer Rumon Gamba, Conductor |
Overture to a Symphony Concert |
Miklós Rózsa, Composer
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Miklós Rózsa, Composer Rumon Gamba, Conductor |
Tripartita |
Miklós Rózsa, Composer
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Miklós Rózsa, Composer Rumon Gamba, Conductor |
Author: Guy Rickards
None of the four works here has connections with the cinema although Rózsa’s Kodály-esque concert platform and silver-screen styles did not differ much. The earliest item is the Three Hungarian Sketches, a vibrant Capriccio, Pastorale and Danza which constituted the official Hungarian entry for the 1938 ISCM Festival. A major offering, it is more substantial than the slightly longer Hungarian Serenade, a post-war reworking of the Op 10 Serenade and some early piano pieces, which is essentially superior light music.
Rózsa’s Hungarian roots, which never dimmed during his long exile, were rarely expressed with as much pathos as in the Overture to a Symphony Concert, conceived during the hopeful days of the abortive 1956 Hungarian revolution. Revised in 1963, this is a bright and positive score which would grace any concert programme. Most impressive of all is the Tripartita (1971, rev 1972), its constituent Intrada, Intermezzo and rather Waltonian Finale showing Rózsa developing in a new direction late in his career. Excellent performances and superlative sound make this a most enjoyable overture to what should prove a most worthwhile enterprise.
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