Jenő Takács (1902-2005)
Serenade after old Contredances from Graz Op. 83b (1966)
Rhapsody for violin and string orchestra Op. 49a (1941)
Concerto for Piano, Strings and Percussion Op. 60 (1947-2000)
Passacaglia for String Orchestra Op. 73 (1960)
Three Pieces for Strings (1993)
Nina Karmon (violin), Oliver Triendl (piano)
Georgian Chamber Orchestra/Evan-Alexis Christ
rec. 2020, Stadttheater, Ingolstadt, Germany
CAPRICCIO C5438 [66]
Jenő Takács was a new name to me, as I suspect he will be to most of our readers. He was born in Cinfalva, a town on the Austrian-Hungarian border, known as Sigendorf in German. It was then in Hungary and is now in Austria. He studied in Vienna but later became friendly with Bartók. He taught for various periods in Egypt, the Philippines and the USA. He composed prolifically throughout his long life, including a number of teaching pieces for pianists, and his works continue to be performed in the German-speaking world. However, he seems unknown in the UK.
Here we have a group of his orchestral works, very handsomely presented. First is the Serenade after old Contredances from Graz. I was surprised by this work, expecting a reworking of the old material with twentieth century touches, as in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. In fact, Takács seems simply to have chosen and orchestrated these little pieces in an idiom which Dvořák would not have found surprising. He originally arranged them for large orchestra, and they were so successful that he made several other versions, including this one for string orchestra. There are six movements, some romantic but most playful and lighthearted. It is pleasant enough but nothing to get excited about.
The Rhapsody for Violin and String Orchestra which follows is in two sections, a slow lassú followed by a fast friss. This was the form adopted by Bartók in his two violin rhapsodies and earlier by Liszt. This draws on Hungarian folk tunes but the cadenza turns out to have been written by the English cellist and composer Graham Waterhouse. The violin writing draws on the techniques used by Hungarian folk violinists. The work is attractive but lacks the bite of Bartók’s rhapsodies.
The Piano Concerto is a more substantial work, in three movements. Takács took a long time completing the first movement to his satisfaction and he kept revising it. The problem is that there is too much disparate material to unify, and I do wonder whether he was ever really satisfied with it. The most impressive passage features pounding rhythms with irregular accents in the strings, later joined by the piano and then a xylophone. This is vivid, but it does happen to be so close to a celebrated passage in the second movement of Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta as to be practically a copy. (Stravinsky also borrowed from this passage, in his Symphony in Three Movements, but made it thoroughly his own.) This is a shame as the remaining two movements are impressive. The second is a dialogue between serene strings and a threatening piano – a kind of reversal of the second movement of Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto. The finale is a jolly rondo. Despite the weakness of the first movement this is quite often played.
The Passacaglia for String Orchestra started as the opening movement of an unpublished piano sonata. It works well in its new medium. It is a serious work, melancholy in places but also varied and with, at times, a more adventurous idiom than the other works here.
Finally, we have Three Pieces for Strings, which are orchestrations of piano pieces Takács had written earlier. The first, Celtic Pastoral, sounds like a pastiche of the English pastoralism of the early twentieth century. The second, Buffoon, is witty and sardonic in the manner of Prokofiev, and the final American Dream uses the tune of Turkey in the Straw in a manner reminiscent of Copland.
These works are all nicely played by the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, which turns out to be an orchestra in exile, now based in Germany. Evan-Alexis Christ is well established in Germany and conducts with verve. The soloists Nina Karmon and Oliver Triendl are convincing. The recording is good and the presentation attractive. This is a worthy tribute to an interesting minor composer.
Stephen Barber
Previous review: Christopher Little
