Mátyás SEIBER (1905-1960)
Sinfonietta for String Orchestra (1924, arr. Antal Doráti, 1964) [17:43]
Besardo Suite No. 2 (1942) [13:36]
Fantasia concertante for violin and string orchestra (1943-44) [16:56]
Sonata for violin and piano (1960) [16:58]
Concert Piece for violin and piano (1954) [8:07]
Nina Karmon (violin)
Oliver Triendl (piano)
Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn/Levente Török
rec. 26-28 May 2021, Sulmtalhalle Erlenbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; 10-11 August, 2021 Studio Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (Sonata)
HÄNSSLER HC21043 [73:42]
This is a very welcome addition to the sadly limited number of CDs and records devoted to émigré composer Mátyás Seiber. Most of these works have received an earlier recording, but I think that the Sinfonietta for string orchestra is a first.
The booklet notes (in German and English) by Soma Mihály Sipos are good. He does tend to concentrate on the Sitz im Leben and reception, rather than giving the listener a clue as to what the music sounds like. There are the usual biographies of the soloists and the orchestra, but no overview of the composer. Hänssler have included photos of the musicians but alas, the cover artwork seems to me to be lacking in impact.
The liner notes give precious few details about the Sinfonietta for string orchestra (1924/1964) but mention that this was an arrangement of Seiber’s String Quartet No.1 written in Hungary around 1924. Although the booklet tells us that Antal Doráti made this transcription for string orchestra, it fails to mention that it was completed in 1964, four years after Seiber’s fatal accident. It was premiered on 9 September 1964, during a radio broadcast from Melbourne, Australia.
The work was influenced by his teacher Zoltan Kodály. Another clear influence is Hungarian folk music. Much of the texture is based on the pentatonic scale (black notes, piano) in various transpositions. The vibrant, opening Maestoso-allegro moderato is written in sonata form with engaging themes. Despite Seiber’s youthful impulse, the slow movement shows considerable reserve and subtlety of thought. This elegiac music is truly lovely. The final rondo returns to his Hungarian roots, with a great contrast of ideas. This is a magnificent work; one of my discoveries of 2021. Despite it not majoring on Seiber’s trademark permutations and serial manipulations, it provides a prophecy of the music that was to follow in his later career. It should be essential repertoire for all orchestras and would make a great opening piece at any concert.
In 1935, Mátyás Seiber immigrated to England from Germany where his interest in teaching jazz in the Hochschule had sparked Nazi disapproval. In London, he worked in a publishing house, taught, and founded the Dorian Singers. In 1940, he produced his Besardo Suite No.1 for full orchestra. To my knowledge this is not yet recorded. The Besardo Suite No.2 was completed in 1942 while he was teaching at Morley College. The Suite was premiered by the Boyd Neel Orchestra at the Wigmore Hall on 3 December 1945. The tunes used were inspired by 16th/17th century Burgundian composer, Jean-Baptiste Bésard’s collection the Thesaurus Harmonicus, published in 1603. The Suite has six movements: 1. Intrada, 2. Guillemette - Chorea Rustica 3. Galliarda Dolorata, 4. Branle Commun, 5. Madrigale and 6. Cournate de Guerre - Canaries. It is helpful to note that the movements are arranged in a slow-fast sequence.
The impact of this piece is much like Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite and Ottorino Respighi’s three Suites of Ancient Airs and Dances, as well as his The Birds. It surprises me that it is not in the general repertoire of string orchestras and regularly heard on Classic fM.
The Besardo Suite No.2 is also available Dutton Epoch (CDLX 7207), released in 2008. It is reviewed on MusicWeb International here.
Another wartime composition is the Fantasia concertante for violin and string orchestra (1943-44). This is a good example of Seiber’s personal adaptation of serialism. At its London premiere in 1945, an unattributed reviewer “sneeringly” suggested that it sounded “like all pieces produced in that technique” (cited in liner notes). This was surely a mishearing of a stunning success by a traditionalist critic. The open-minded listener will realise that Seiber uses the tone-row in a free manner, rather than being hidebound by it.
The Fantasia could be a concerto, were it not for its sectional or mosaic construction. The faster segments nod to the rhythmic, motor driven vitality of Bartók as well as the dodecaphonic sound of Schoenberg. The Lento section presents a contrapuntal meditation that is lyrical and far removed from harshness or bleakness. Towards the end, Seiber introduces an impressive cadenza, leading to a gritty coda. The violin soloist provides a wide cross section of instrumental techniques here, including double-stopping, glissando and aggressive, fast-paced passage-work.
The remarkable Sonata for violin and piano was completed shortly before Seiber’s tragic death in 1960. It was a Cheltenham Festival commission. The listener will be immediately struck by its eclectic nature with three wildly contrasting movements. The first, Appassionato e rapsodica, is exhilarating and enthusiastic, indulging in various pyrotechnics for the fiddle. I am not sure if Seiber calls for improvisation, but there is certainly a wildness and unpredictability here. The second movement balances a stylish, but wayward, dance complete with pizzicato violin and staccato piano chords, offset by an errant scherzo. The last movement, with its slow, contemplative mood brings the entire Sonata to a quiet and rewarding conclusion. It is certainly a memorable “swansong” that ought to be in the repertoire of all violinists who perform mid-twentieth century music. Despite the modernist sound and (probable) use of a 12-note series, there is nothing intimidating here.
The Concert Piece for violin and piano written in 1954 is an uncompromising, serial creation. That said, Hans Keller (Musical Times, November 1955, p.582) has stated that "Like much of Schoenberg's own dodecaphony, Seiber's Concert Piece can be shown to offend against every single twelve-note rule while heeding the spirit of each." The exemplar may be Schoenberg's Phantasy for violin and piano, op. 47 (1949).
The liner notes do not explain that this work consists of contrasted sections, which combined, create a well-balanced formal structure, nor is the fact that it was composed applying Seiber’s newly developed permutation technique with four-note units. Rapid semiquavers, aggressive piano chords, and rapid changes of instrumental register are combined with beautiful lyrical moments. The writing for both instruments is stunning and often breath-taking. Despite the formal scaffolding, there is nothing here that suggests the pedantic. It is a great introduction to Mátyás Seiber’s concert music.
Interestingly, the booklet explains that the young and then unknown Hungarian composer György Ligeti was seriously impressed with this piece (and other music by Seiber). This was at a time when “conservative” Soviet artistic strictures still applied in Hungary, so Ligeti could have been in trouble.
Every composition on this exciting new CD is stunning. The playing by all the performers is first-class and enhanced by the superb sound engineering. I thoroughly enjoyed every bar of this sometimes challenging, but always musically satisfying, collection of works.
John France
