Don’t be deceived by the cute “Hungarian” titles: This is serious music. Colorful and tuneful, of course, but wonderfully crafted and expressively substantial. In words such as the Tripartita and even the Overture, Rózsa reveals himself to be closer to Bartók than, say, Kodály or Leo Weiner–he’s not afraid to adopt some of the harmonic acerbity of real Hungarian folk music, and the result is captivating but never cheap. It’s good to see him being given “complete” treatment by Chandos, and hopefully this series also will include the suites from his film scores; they deserve to be taken as seriously as his more abstract works.
The performances here are excellent, and very well recorded. Often I find the BBC Phiilharmonic to be an orchestra lacking in character, with a certain generic “studio” sound, but of course the conductor makes a big difference, and Rumon Gamba infuses the music with plenty of spirit and energy. In the Hungarian Serenade he’s a touch quicker than the recent Naxos release, and perhaps a touch more rigid in consequence, but really there’s very little to choose between the two, and it’s the couplings that tell. Naxos offers a fine performance of the Viola Concerto, while the couplings here total another quarter hour of music and make the perfect introduction to Rózsa’s career as a “serious” composer. This disc is a keeper. [2/24/2009]
