New Releases

Eugene Zádor, 2024

The project to record all of Eugene Zádor’s orchestral works continues with this eighth volume by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mariusz Smolij.

Zádor enjoyed composing for what he called “underprivileged” instruments, those rarely given prominence in the concert hall. His Accordion Concerto was one such work, premiered in 1972 by the great accordionist Anthony Galla-Rini. Suite for Brass Instruments, among Zádor’s most frequently performed compositions during his lifetime, was previously recorded by the Westminster Brass Ensemble. Shorter works on this recording—Romance, Fantasy for Violin and Piano, and Berceuse—have been arranged by the conductor, as has the Piano Quintet, composed in 1933, for which Zádor won the Hungarian National State Prize.

Detailed liner notes by Frank DeWald are available with the recording.

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.

Since the first volume was recorded a dozen years ago, seven 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.)

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.