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REPERTOIRE – MUSIC FROM HUNGARY KAMILLO LENDVAY & FRIGYES HIDAS AT SEVENTY SEVEN HUNGARIAN WIND MUSIC COMES OF AGE - IT IS SURPRISING THAT MORE OF IT IS NOT PLAYED WORLD-WIDE Tim Reynish written for WASBE in 2002 I think that the first Hungarian work for wind which I really noticed was by Kamillo Lendvay, his brilliant little Concertino for Piano, Winds and Harp of 1959. In 2003 Lendvay himself reached the milestone age of 75, and so we should re-assess his position in contemporary wind music and programme some of his music. He was born in Budapest on 28th December, 1928, and after studies at the Liszt Academy he began his career as conductor, music coach and director of the choir at the Szeged Opera. He has written in all forms including television opera, and this feel for the dramatic infuses his wind music. Details of his works and career can be found on his website: RECORDED ON Hungaraton Classics HCD 31787 Concertino for Piano, Winds, Percussion and Harp (1959) 10 minutes Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Symphony Orchestra (1991) 13 minutes The Concertino was written on a commission from Hungarian Radio and has become one of Lendvay's most performed works internationally. The language is that of his contemporaries Bartok and Kodaly, that energetic folk-based lingua franca of Hungarian music which so suits the piano, a synthesis of Eastern European melodic, harmonic and rhythmic influences with Western musical thought. I had forgotten until revisiting this recording and excellent performance by Gloria Lanni with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Janos Sandor, what a really excellent piece this is; Concertino is a misnomer, since the all three movements, while concise, are wonderfully organised and developed. The finale I am sure, if played on a "blind" test to most musicians, would be identified as by Bartok The Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Symphony Orchestra was premiered at WASBE in 1991, and is the result of a commission by the publishers EMB for WASBE. The premiere was given by Martin Winter with the Berkshire Youth Wind Orchestra under Robert Roscoe. The first movement Senza Sordino began life as a commission from the International Trumpet Guild as a set work for a young artists competition, but Lendvay seamlessly adds touches of orchestral colour in the background to the opening improvisations, and then rhythmic interjections punctuate a modo perpetuo.. The second movement also has cadenza passages while the third, modestly entitled "Rondo in Modo Classico", has tremendous energy and verve and is far from the pastiche that the title implies. Other works for wind:
Editio Musica Budapest is available from Boosey & Hawkes Axa Music Pécs, axa 1006 Telephone +36 - 72 315 529 Email kozpont@direct.hu.or HUNGARIAN MUSIC QUARTERLY With so many major figures in Hungary now in their sixth or seventh decade, it is high time that we woke up to the fact that they have written a great deal of idiomatic and very attractive music. It is surprising that not more of it is played world-wide. In a review of Hungarian Composers of the last Five Decades in Hungarian Music Quarterly paid tribute to several whose work has contributed largely to the wind world. The writer Peter Halasz is dismissive of "The Fifites", suggesting that "a light and harmonious Hungarian style was required, and following this dogma quite a number of serenades and oratorio works of little artistic value were written. Formally, a strong conservatism can be observed". However, I have always enjoyed the music of Gyorgy Ranki 1907-1992; I think his "Tales of Father Goose" for solo Tenor Trombone and Wind Band is one of those rare works, combining really funny music with the beautiful. And I shall never forget his coming to rehearsal of this work straight off a plane from Beijing, energetically contributing to the discussion, and in the evening concert being the last to leave the reception. I particularly love his Suite from the Ballet King Pomade, as close to Stravinsky's Petrouchka as any work in its fusing of folk elements. THE SIXTIES In the his commentary on the Sixties, Halasz lists several composers whose music for wind is becoming increasingly well known:
He writes: "The music of ISTVAN LANG is both colourful and intellectually conceived. He is one of the rare composers who remained faithful to the technical experiments of the avant-garde from the 60's on. Like Lang, KAMILLO LENDVAY also has great experience in the theatre. His music is full of wit and natural expression. FRIGYES HIDAS is a prominent writer of incidental music whose virtuoso works for the concert hall, especially his internationally popular brass music, shows a light touch….not far from these composers we can locate JANOS DESCENYI, whose music employs calculation as an important element." THE SEVENTIES One of the most interesting and often amusing composers to emerge in the latter part of the century is Laszlo Dubrovay (b 1943) who "imbibed the experimental spirit of the sixties. He has become interested in music as an abstract phenomenon, as his instrumental and electronic compositions clearly show. Now Dubrovay has also begun to turn back to tradition, aiming at the revitalisation of Hungarian idiom. A tiny snapshot of this repertoire can be gleaned from a recording from Hungaraton Hungaraton Classics HCD 31612
For more information about Hungarian music, please contact Laszlo Marosi at Florida State University, email lmarosi@mail.ucf.edu |