Ludovit Rajter (1906-2000) will be best known to CD collectors as one of those budget-label conductors who turned up from time to time at the head of various not terribly attractive-sounding Eastern European orchestras, conducting standard repertoire. He also was a composer, and quite a good one–not terribly adventurous, perhaps, but that’s only to be expected given the circumstances of his life and work. His music basically sounds like Bartók, but with some of the rough edges rubbed off; add a dash of Miklós Rósza and you’ll have a pretty clear sense of what to expect.
The works on display here show a remarkably consistent level of quality, and range from the early Divertimento of 1932 to the Impressioni of 1995. There is some evolution in language: the late pieces are a touch more dissonant in style, more concerned with coloristic devices, but they are clearly the work of the same composer. As usual, David Porcelijn is a most reliable guide to the unfamiliar, and he gets very good results from his orchestra. This is an idiom that clearly suits the players, and the engineering is also natural and flattering to the participants. Very enjoyable.
