Zoltan Kodaly Boris Blacher Edward Elgar - Elgar Enigma Variations Kodaly Variations on a Hungarian Folksong (17 tracks) +Album Reviews

A unique combination.

Marcus K. Maroney | 05/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Solti has a special sense for this music as well as special relatioship with the Vienna Phil. This combination results in some marvelous muisc. This Enigma far outruns his Chicago Sym. version-there is more warmth in the palying and a much less hurried pace."

Golden Jubilee...

Mr Bassil A MARDELLI | Riad El-SOLH , Beirut Lebanon | 04/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
The Hungarian-British Georg Solti was one of the prominent conductors in the twentieth century. In 1971 Sir Solti was awarded Honorary Order of the British Empire. In addition, many times he received Grammy Awards on his superior orchestral and operatic conducting skills chiefly derived from experience and hard work.

Solti was born in Hungary-Budapest (1912) - his mother country - where he mastered the piano at Franz Liszt Academy. His father decided to change the surname from "Stern" to Solti in order to guard against possible anti-Semitic feelings.

Solti's first appearance as full-fledged conductor was in 1938 at the Budapest Opera House where he performed Mozart's - The Marriage of Figaro, just one year prior to the eruption of the Second World War.

He fled Hungary to Switzerland - 1937 - following upon the initial drums of WWII.

In Switzerland he continued his career as pianist, with very little conducting.

Solti's agreement with Los Angeles Philharmonic to be music director opened the door for more conduction performances to come, however, one year after, he resigned his post in protest to the appointment of Zubin Mehta - at 26 - as assistant conductor without his knowledge,(subsequently, Mehta took Solti's job as music director)......

Thereafter he spent most of his time in the United Kingdom where he was appointed music director at the Royal Opera House until 1971. ((His cohorts dubbed him The Screaming Skull because he grew bold-headed and due to his persistent demanding rehearsal style)).

Perhaps he wanted to be as perfectionist emulating Herbert von Karajan.

Solti missed the 1000 distinctive mark by only one. He conducted 999 performances and his one thousandth was scheduled for October 1997 to fall around his 85th birthday, alas that was never to come.

Solti's main performances were for Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss, Wagner, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Bartok, Debussy, Dvorak, Handel, Bizet, Elgar, and Verdi.

In this recording by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Solti is no less distinguished. Hungary still embedded in his heart, prompted him to transform, elegantly, music that explains his days as he cut through across the continents, changing his name and mother-country, in the face of anti-Semitic feelings and ultra-Western nationalism. Solti could feel this in Zoltan Kodaly's Variations on a Hungarian Folksongs - The Peacock - embodying Hungarian nationalism. Boris Blacher composed his Variations on the theme of Paganini in 1947, for solo violin. Edward Elgar's on Enigma variations with their melancholic themes.

I gave it five stars, wouldn't you?

"

Excellent late recordings

Marcus K. Maroney | 12/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Blacher is a great piece, easily the equal of Rachmaninoff's variations on the same theme. The jazzy passages are brought off with panache by the Viennese musicians. The Kodaly is a reading that highlights the dynamic and orchestrational contrasts in the work - it is quick and doesn't dwell anywhere, lending an almost neoclassical feel to the score. The Elgar is a winning rendition - I'm not quite sure what kind of system the reviewer who said the timpani weren't very audible was using, but on my relatively inexpensive one, they are very audible and thrilling where appropriate. Some buyers might be seeking a version with a slow, schmalzy performance of the celebrated "Nimrod" variation - this one flows beautifully and builds to a tremendous climax but doesn't wallow. The recorded sound is all-around splendid - warmer and fuller throughout all ranges than Solti's Chicago recording of this piece."

Unique and effective

Mike G. | Cincinnati, Ohio | 07/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For this review I will concentrate mostly on the Elgar. I am less familiar with the Kodaly and the Blacher, but I have heard both before and Solti does justice to both of the pieces. Other reviews might be more enlightening concerning them.

Sir Georg Solti, despite being Hungarian, could compete with any Englishman conducting English music. He has a certain style with Elgar that is unique - muscular and dramatic yet very crisp. This recording is no exception of that. The CD as a whole seems to have a sort of international theme about it, and Solti's interpretation of Enigma seems to have an international feel as well. Of course, this is what happens when you have a Hungarian conducting English music played by an Austrian orchestra. Again, quite unique sounding.

There were only a couple things that troubled me. I don't think I need to discuss them thoroughly. There were some interpretation issues that I didn't quite agree with. Also, the Vienna Philharmonic didn't seem too comfortable with Solti's style, or at least they weren't quite used to it (they are very together in Gardiner's studio performance from a couple years later). As a result there are some ensemble issues and resulting dynamic problems. All of this is probably due to the fact that the performances were recorded live. A studio performance I'm sure would have made a big difference. Solti made one with Chicago earlier in his career, but from what I've heard and from what other reviewers are saying, it still isn't as good as this one. One might imagine what a Solti/London Philharmonic Enigma would sound like. He did all of his other Elgar recordings with them, and they are more experienced with the music.

Everything else I appreciate immensely. The sound is spectacular, just what one would expect from London/Decca. The Vienna Philharmonic, despite being out of its niche, gives a rousing performance. Solti's interpretation is solid, not at all the gooey stereotypical Elgar that we are used to hearing. Nimrod is just over 3 minutes long - the shortest I've ever heard aside from the composer's own 1932 recording (Great Recordings of the Century - still available). The flow is good. The group, as I said, might run into some potholes, but they don't stop to pick dasies either. In all a very effective little collection of music."

Nothing wrong with 'Nimrod', and don't pass up 'The Peacock'

Greensleeves | Lawrence, KS United States | 07/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Solti may not be the first conductor one thinks of when Elgar is played, and the Vienna Philharmonic may not be the first orchestra that comes to mind for the Enigma Variations. However, this CD, along with Solti's recording of the two complete Elgar symphonies, is among the best I've heard. Perhaps not as relentlessly Britannic as some would like, but the VPO has the pedigree to compete with the stuffiest of imperial British outfits. Plus they can pick and choose conductors ;-)The VPO's playing is smooth and highly refined, as expected, and Solti is masterful in conducting these three pieces. I admit I bought it for the Kodaly, since I was looking for a good rendition of 'The Peacock', but the Elgar is worth having the disc for as well (and I have a hunch that the Elgar headlines the disc for marketing purposes; the Kodaly is the true core work on this CD). For those who want an all-Elgar CD with the VPO, or for those who consider Elgar best interpreted by Brit conductors, I would recommend the recent release with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the VPO, which is also brilliantly done."

Search - Zoltan Kodaly, Boris Blacher, Edward Elgar :: Elgar: Enigma Variations; Kodaly: Variations on a Hungarian Folksong

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