Hungaria, S109, begins darkly, ominously. Here is the spirit
of pure Romanticism. The piece was begun in 1848 - the year of
the Hungarian uprising against the Hapsburgs. A march with origins
in an earlier piece, Heroic March in Hungarian Style,
leads to an episodic section which includes some work for solo
violin. 'Episodic' seems to sum up this work perfectly, in fact,
but it works here chiefly because of the élan of the New Zealanders
involved. The recording is very good without being demonstration
quality. Nevertheless there is real detail there, and the thumping
timpani-emphasised arrival at 12:35 makes its mark in no uncertain
fashion. The descent into the depths - which reaches its stillest
point around 15:30 - is particularly atmospheric. Avoidance of
bombast, which enables the closing bars to sound triumphant, is
symptomatic of the entire disc.
The Héroïde
funèbre, S102 is actually the first movement of a projected
‘Revolutionary Symphony’ that was never to see completion.
The funereal Lento lugubre introduction unites Beethoven's
famous 'Eroica' funeral march with the nightmarish
side of Berlioz. Liszt’s works hints of The Marseillaise
into his fabric. The discipline of the New Zealand orchestra
enables the long stretch of this piece to work.
Finally, the slightly
shorter Tasse which is not to be confused with Tasso,
the first version of this piece, which dates from 1849. There
is much beauty here, and the phrasing from the New Zealand
strings in particular is remarkably tender. ‘A Gondolier's
Song’ is given central importance as regards thematic material,
but what really matters is the elegiac mood, captured to perfection
here.
Naxos seem to have
some affinity with Liszt, for recently I welcomed the orchestrations
of the Hungarian Rhapsodies (8.570230). I still enjoy the
Masur traversals of the Liszt symphonic poems (currently available
as a 7-CD set), but Halász provides a viable alternative.
Colin Clarke
see also Review
by Michael Cookson
New Zealand
Symphony Orchestra/Michael Halász
