Zádor: Biblical Triptych

 


Here we are on Volume 4 in Naxos series of orchestral music from Hungarian composer Eugene Zádor.

The Christmas Overture is the composer's most affable piece on this program, beginning with bright merriment, but surprisingly ending on the solemnity of the season. For those interested, the overture is not a mash up of familiar tunes, but instead an entirely original creation.

The main event is Zádor's Biblical Triptych, a suite where each movement paints a musical portrait of a biblical character, in this case Joseph, David (from the cover art), and Paul. Zádor shows his orchestral colors here, not only varied from movement to movement, but also within each movement. I don't detect too much of a Middle-East musical exoticism here, although the clarinets in Joseph and the harp in David come close. The most angular music making comes in Paul, but his harmonies become solid as a rock by its conclusion.

In Volume 3, I mentioned my pleasure seeing the starry roster of conductors taking up Zádor's music in the concert hall. I wouldn't be half surprised to see the likes of Antal Doráti or Sir Georg Solti in the future. With the Biblical Triptych, Zádor befriends the great modern author Thomas Mann in conjunction with this work. Zádor reviews are going to become a regular Who's Who of the arts world and beyond.

The 20-minute Rhapsody is perhaps the composer's most subtle composition. It moves in warm, pastoral motions, although as the composition goes on, a rhythmic jocularity appears, ending on a rather witty note. I daresay, the one-movement piece is simply too long to sustain Zádor's ideas, but never is the music difficult or unwelcome.

On the other hand, the Fugue Fantasia is a rather cranky piece, with not one bit of musical sunshine. Some describe this as an overture, however, I would never want to open a concert with this work. Maybe a certain minor-keyed Bach nod is at play here, an aspect I miss upon hearing, but this one will not become a personal favorite anytime soon.

As an aside, I somehow lost track of this CD in my collection following a residential move or two, but I wanted to revisit it when going through the Naxos set of Eugene Zádor. Luckily, the internet is a giving community in terms of music.

The Hungarian players and conductor certainly bring this music to energetic life, even if the recording quality is not going to blow anyone away. Par for the course in this set thus far.

 

 

 

Works
Biblical Triptych (30.04)
Rhapsody for Large Orchestra (20.54)
A Christmas Overture (8.36)
Fugue Fantasia (13.00)


Ensemble
Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV

Mariusz Smolij, conductor 

Label: Naxos
Year: 2016
Total Timing: 67.15

 

 

This fourth volume is probably my least favorite so far in the series, but should still provide many pleasures.

Maybe I am becoming too used to Zádor's musical modus operandi and need something a little different. Either way, I assume my reaction to some of the music is a personal problem, for much of this recording is quite endearing.

Find more Zádor recordings HERE!