New Releases

Eugene Zádor, 2023

The project to record all of Eugene Zádor’s orchestral works continues with this latest volume by the Budapest Symphony under the baton of Mariusz Smolij. Included here are one of Zádor’s early compositions, Chamber Concerto (1931), and five works written in the composer’s later years: Suite for 8 Celli (1966); Celebration Music (1968); Suite for Horn Strings and Percussion (1972); Lullaby for Horn and Piano (1973); and his last orchestral composition, Hungarian Scherzo (1975).

Detailed liner notes written by Frank DeWald are available with the CD.

Recent Releases

In October, 2010, Howard Williams conducted the Budapest Symphony in a program of three works by Zádor: Aria and Allegro, Hungarian Capriccio, and Csárdás Rhapsody; and, by Miklos Rozsa, Sinfonia Concertante. The first of two such performances took place in Pécs; the second in Budapest. A recording of five works by Zádor was released on Naxos in 2012. The Budapest Symphony, this time conducted by Mariusz Smolij, again played Aria and Allegro, Hungarian Capriccio, and Csárdás Rhapsody, as well as A Children’s Symphony and Five Contrasts for Orchestra.

In the decade since the first volume was recorded, six more have been made, all performed by the Budapest Symphony and conducted by Mariusz Smolij. Almost all of the composer’s works for large orchestra are represented in this series, as well as chamber music and works for solo instrument. (Track lists and reviews can be found on this website in the Concert Music section under Recordings.) An eighth volume, planned for 2023, will include a concerto written for accordion, a piano quintet, and several of the composer’s songs.

A frequent recording artist for Naxos International, Mariusz Smolij has received critical acclaim for his compelling performances. His discography includes a long list of CDs released by major recording companies. Highly praised by international press, these recordings feature a repertoire by deserving under-represented Eastern European composers such as Panufnik, Bacewicz, and Szeligowski, as well as recognized masters such as Rózsa, Mahler, Copland, and Bernstein. The conductor is in the process of recording the entire symphonic output of Eugene Zádor.

On January 28, 2015, Mariusz Smolij led the Capella Bydgostiensis Chamber Orchestra in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in a performance of Zádor’s Divertimento for Strings. Since then, he has conducted orchestras in both the United States and Europe in performances of the Csárdás Rhapsody (March 6, 2016, Arcadiana Orchestra, Lafayette, Louisiana; June 17, 2016, National Music Festival Orchestra, Chesterton, Maryland; October 29, 2016, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Hungary; April 7, 2017, Toruń Symphony Orchestra, Toruń, Poland). On January 20, 2017, he conducted the Artur Rubenstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Lodz, Poland, in a program of American music that included selections from two works Zádor composed after he emigrated to the United States: Biblical Triptych and Studies for Orchestra. On September 7, 2019, he conducted the Toruń Symphony Orchestra in Toruń, Poland, in a performance of Zádor’s Elegie.