Eugene Zádor, 2018

Track Listing

Zádor: Dance Overture 7:32

 
Zádor: Fantasia Hungarica for Double Bass and Orchestra 11:04

1. Moderato 5:58
2. Poco Vivo 5:06

 

Zádor: Elegie, “The Plains of Hungary” 9:33

 

Zádor: Rhapsody for Cimbalom and Orchestra 12:15

 

Zádor: Variations on a Merry Theme 22:22

 

Zádor: Rhapsody for Orchestra 14:58

Reviews

“Conductor Smolij seems to be in total sympathy with the music. His sense of nuance and his choice of tempos seem ideally suited to these works, and the performances suggest that everyone was in love with them. The orchestra plays magnificently. One could not ask for more from a performance. The recorded sound is excellent.”
—Karl F. Miller, Fanfare

 

“I am quite pleased with this CD, and the piece I enjoy most (by far) is the Elegie The Plains of Hungary. It only lasts 9 ½ minutes, but it is probably worth the modest price of the CD on its own. It could almost be called a symphonic poem for woodwind and strings, although brass and harp appear to a limited degree as well. The recording captures the tones of different woodwind instruments beautifully. … All in all, this is a welcome disc, and I am pleased to have had a chance to listen to it (several times). The recording is full and impactful, very well representing the vividness of the scoring.”
—Jim Westhead, Music Web International

 

Mariusz Smolij and The Budapest Symphony continue to show an affinity for these pieces with committed performances. The performances are wonderfully captured in a good overall sound with a touch of ambiance that allows here for the crisp playing. Zádor’s music has a bit more chance to capture the ears of audiences more receptive to tonal music with modern touches and more open to the Hollywood-based composer’s concert music.  Start here and consider exploring previous releases in this series.”
—Steven A. Kennedy, Cinemusical

 

“His [Zádor’s] later works addressed Hungarian themes and had a folk-like homespun quality at times without adopting directly any nationalistic melodic material. Yet there is real inventive facility, an excellent sonoric command of the orchestra, poise and personality in the musical unfolding.”
—Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

 

“Having fled Hungary at the onset of the Second World War, we find Hungarian composer, Eugene Zádor, in the United States having a new life in the film industry. Yet there was always a yearning to return to his years in Vienna where his works had received critical acclaim, and in his final period he was to write in a style he had created as a young man, but now with the added element of the commerciality of Hollywood.  Opening with the infectious joy of the Dance Overture from 1965, five years later he wrote the two movements of Fantasia Hungarica for that remarkable and legendary bassist, Gary Karr, here recreated by the virtuoso, Zsolt Fejervari, his extraordinary performance something you must not miss. Technically it is impeccable, with the upper octaves possessing the sweetness of a cello. Maybe Elegy was a rather glossy memory of Hungary, the inclusion of the cimbalom in the Rhapsody returns to the music of Eastern Europe with a display of the instrument in many moods. The most extended score is the Variations on a Merry Theme, that theme coming from Zádor, the variations is a showcase for soloists of the orchestra, obviously much to the delight of the Budapest Symphony, directed by the Polish conductor, Mariusz Smolij. This highly recommended release ends with the 1961 Rhapsody, premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to highly favourable reviews, it is, like most of his works, receiving its World Premiere Recording. Studio sound of good quality.”
—David Denton, David’s Review Corner