This shatteringly authoritative dics shows us Ferenc
Fricsay's unforgettable conducting at ist brilliant ebullient best.
As DG's notes espouse, Fricsay was completely at home conducting two
of his outstanding compatriots namely Bartok and Kodaly. This batch
of recordings fills an unaccountable void in the Kodaly discography
and the reissue should stand as a timely reminder of the grandeur and
eloquence that permeate this magnificent music. I warmed immediately
to the incredulity and fantasy of the 'Hary Janos' Suite, a clockwork
cornucopia of bizarre sounds and mystical dances culminating in a headlong
rush of blistering Hungarian frivolity.
The 1961 recording is clear and crisp and here one
cannot fail to touch Fricsay's emotive music making just a couple years
away from his untimely death. The two Dances are earlier mono recordings
and they shine out for the brilliant sonorities that Fricsay was able
to coax out of his Berlin players. It seems that each and every instrumentalist
is a virtuoso in his own right with some perplexingly daredevil work
from the strings in the dashing conclusion of the "Marozzek' Dances.
The same could be said of this 'Psalmus Hungaricus',
thrilling dashing and ebullient are the catchwords here, sometimes the
polyphony is utterly amazing. Ernst Haefliger sings with real panache
and authority and once again the orchestra play their hearts out for
their conductor. DG's remastering proves extremely lifelike and the
sharp mono recordings provide a thrillingly clear soundstage. And the
authority of Fricsay's Kodaly can never be denied. This issue can safely
be said to be the central recommendation for these works and it also
proves to be a fine memorial to the genius of Ferenc Fricsay.