{"id":31711,"date":"2023-08-18T14:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T12:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=187539"},"modified":"2023-08-18T15:40:02","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T13:40:02","slug":"a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos and its best recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malcolm Hayes is enthralled by a Hungarian folk hero\u2019s swashbuckling tales as he searches out the best recordings of Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos orchestral suite <\/p>

By Malcolm Hayes\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 18 August 2023 at 12:49 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Who was <\/span>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos?<\/span><\/h2>\n
There is flaky historical evidence that he may actually have existed \u2013 an army veteran of the Austro-Hungarian Empire\u2019s sequence of (usually losing) Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century. He then evidently became a local hero by regaling listeners with his extremely tall stories of his (always winning) exploits against the enemy, enabling the triumph of his Hungarian homeland and people.<\/span><\/p>\n
A guide to Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/em> orchestral suite<\/span><\/h2>\n
H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos duly became the subject \u2013 a situation of which he would doubtless have approved \u2013 of an opera based on his legendary tales. Composed by Zolt\u00e1n Kod\u00e1ly, it was premiered at Budapest\u2019s Hungarian Opera House in 1926 and quickly became a much-loved cultural icon of the newly independent Hungarian nation. It has remained so ever since.<\/span><\/p>\n
Kod\u00e1ly prefaced the score with his own take on the would-be national hero he immortalised in his opera, and in the orchestral suite he extracted from the score a year later.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2018He is a peasant, a veteran soldier,\u2019 wrote the composer, \u2018who day after day sits in the tavern, spinning yarns about his heroic exploits which are an inextricable mixture of realism and na\u00efvet\u00e9, of comic humour and pathos. Though superficially he appears to be merely a braggart, essentially he is a national visionary and poet. That his stories are not true is irrelevant, for they are the fruit of a lively imagination seeking to create, for himself and others, a beautiful dream world.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">That world and its subject-matter were very much pitched at a home-grown Hungarian audience. <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> is the Magyar counterpart of other locally designed stage works \u2013 Smetana\u2019s <i>Dalibor<\/i> and <i>Libu\u0161e<\/i>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/leos-janacek\/\">Jan\u00e1\u010dek<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s <i>The Excursions of Mr Brou\u010dek<\/i>, Nielsen\u2019s <i>Maskarade<\/i>, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-gilbert-and-sullivan-operettas\/\">operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 whose music is better known beyond their nation\u2019s boundaries through orchestral extracts in the form of concert suites (where those exist) rather than in their original form.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/bela-bartok\/\">B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k<\/a><\/strong>, his compatriot, fellow-composer and friend, Kod\u00e1ly combined a \u2018high art\u2019 concert-hall idiom of impressive and gorgeously coloured mastery with an encyclopaedic knowledge of his people\u2019s folk music (which, along with Bart\u00f3k, he collected and researched extensively), and with a deep commitment to the cultural values behind this. <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> has all these elements in abundance, plus with a richly humorous streak which, it\u2019s fair to say, was not Bart\u00f3k\u2019s natural territory. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Both composers, while proud nationalists and patriots, were also naturally ambitious for recognition beyond Hungary. Kod\u00e1ly must surely have had an exportable suite from <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> in mind from the start, and this was first heard in Barcelona in 1927. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">By omitting the opera\u2019s voice parts and spoken dialogue and focusing on the score\u2019s main ideas, the suite\u2019s six-movement design conjures a brilliantly entertaining portrait of H\u00e1ry and his assorted encounters with the (supposed) world around him. Somehow, however rain-sodden the weather outside and however depressing the morning news bulletins, the music has an irresistible quality that has you repeatedly catching yourself grinning in delight.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Although the suite\u2019s reputation has happily swept the musical world, concert-goers outside Hungary still have surprisingly few opportunities to hear it. The obvious up-front reason is that, besides a standard-sized symphony orchestra, the score has a prominent role for the cimbalom. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">This unique east-European instrument consists essentially of a low open-topped box, traditionally slung from the standing player\u2019s neck and hanging at hip level like a tray; in the 1870s a larger, free-standing concert version with a more powerful sound was developed in Hungary, of the kind that Kod\u00e1ly wrote for in <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i>. The strings deployed across the instrument are usually not plucked, but played with a set of hand-held beaters, and are arranged in a complex, non-linear layout of pitches, making mastery of the instrument a specialised skill. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Soloists outside native cimbalom territory can usually be found, sometimes in an orchestra\u2019s percussion section, but the instrument\u2019s relative rarity is still a programming disincentive. Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s deployment of it is nonetheless a masterstroke. In this \u2018proper\u2019 orchestral context the cimbalom\u2019s distinctive and entirely different sound, tangy and acrid, has the effect of adding local colour to the music while at the same time roguishly sending it up \u2013 as, no doubt, the oh-so-redoubtable H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos himself enjoyed doing to his surrounding listeners.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The best recordings of <span class=\"s1\">H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Lawrence Foster <\/span><span class=\"s2\"><i>(conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong><span class=\"s3\">Gulbenkian Orchestra<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s3\"><i>Pentatone PTC 518 6360 <\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The music of <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> is written with such sureness and panache that it is more or less impossible to perform it really badly. Recording choices therefore come down to issues of style and flair, and with that in mind, Hungarian musicians would seem to be in pole position. So it has been intriguing to find that the top choice that swims to the surface is performed by a Portuguese orchestra and an American conductor. It\u2019s a situation spotlighting how, besides being a Hungarian national masterpiece, <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos <\/i>has also become a work that belongs to the world \u2013 and how that world, in turn, can open up fresh and appealing perspectives on the music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Lawrence Foster and the Gulbenkian Orchestra lay down a marker in the opening movement, \u2018Prelude: The Fairy-Tale Begins\u2019, setting the scene in a way that\u2019s both colourful and unpretentious. Then comes \u2018The Viennese Musical Clock\u2019 with its mechanical figures, gazed at in wonderment by H\u00e1ry in the Austro-Hungarian Emperor\u2019s palace, to which our conquering hero has been summoned (so he says); the tone of the movement\u2019s toy-soldier march is winsomely captured by the upper woodwind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The cimbalom first appears in \u2018Song\u2019, where H\u00e1ry and his girlfriend are dreaming of returning to their native village. A long-breathed clarinet solo (something of a Kod\u00e1ly trademark), followed by another one for solo oboe, set up an episode of musing lyricism, played here in a way that conveys both the music\u2019s charm and its underlying melancholy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">In \u2018The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon\u2019, H\u00e1ry then confronts the French army, which (so he says) topples over like tin soldiers, so that Napoleon has to kneel down and plead for mercy. The orchestra\u2019s playing here depicts all this with wry lightness of touch: the music seems to be alluding to another masterclass in ironic story-telling, Russian composer Stravinsky\u2019s 1911 ballet <i>Petrushka<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2018Intermezzo\u2019, the suite\u2019s signature movement, features much interplay, cannily balanced here between the not-too-large orchestra and the solo cimbalom: if you want to savour what this instrument gets up to, this is the go-to recording. Finally comes \u2018The Entrance of the Emperor and his Court\u2019, again set in Vienna \u2013 another send-up march, delivered here in true making-you-grin style. Played at its best, <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos <\/i>has you feeling that it\u2019s good to be alive. Recorded in 2011, this performance has that quality.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-container\" data-position=\"adhoc\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-title monetizer-title\" style=\"background-color: #; color: #000000\"\/> <div id=\"monetizer__deals\" data-type=\"price-comparison\" data-config=\"{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Bartok-Kod%C3%A1ly-Ligeti-Lawrence-Foster\/dp\/B004AULDP2","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"0.7-1.3","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}\"\/> <div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text body-copy-extra-small editor-content\"\/><\/div> <p><iframe style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/gb\/album\/bartok-kod%C3%A1ly-ligeti\/401655565\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><i>I<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i>v\u00e1n Fischer (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\"s1\"><i>Philips 462 8242<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Fischer\u2019s <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> with the Budapest Festival Orchestra is deft and enjoyable, with soulful depth in the \u2018Song\u2019 third movement and coruscating virtuoso detail in the \u2018Emperor\u2019s Court\u2019 finale. There\u2019s also an imaginative choice of additional material, all sparklingly performed \u2013 the orchestral <i>Dances of Marossz\u00e9k<\/i> and <i>Dances of Gal\u00e1nta<\/i>, some superbly sung children\u2019s choruses (a legacy of the composer\u2019s lifetime of teaching activity), plus excerpts from the original <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos <\/i>opera score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-container\" data-position=\"adhoc\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-title monetizer-title\" style=\"background-color: #; color: #000000\"\/> <div id=\"monetizerdeals\" data-type=\"price-comparison\" data-config=\"{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Kod%C3%A1ly-J%C3%A1nos-Suite-Dances-Gal%C3%A1nta\/dp\/B00000JLEW","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"0.7-1.3","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}\"\/> <div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text body-copy-extra-small editor-content\"\/><\/div> <p><iframe style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/jp\/album\/kod%C3%A1ly-h%C3%A1ry-j%C3%A1nos-suite-dances-of-gal%C3%A1nta-marossz%C3%A9k\/1452182545?l=en-US\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>\u00c1d\u00e1m Fischer (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\"s1\"><i>Nimbus NI 7081<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Recorded in 2007, \u00c1d\u00e1m Fischer\u2019s interpretation is entirely different from his brother Iv\u00e1n\u2019s \u2013 broader and more probing, with spacious recorded sound to match and handsome, grand-manner playing by the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra. The \u2018Song\u2019 third movement\u2019s lyrical sadness is wonderfully conveyed, with magnificent clarinet and oboe solos recalling the story-telling manner of Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s <i>Scheherazade<\/i>. And the fourth movement\u2019s \u2018Battle and Defeat of Napoleon\u2019, with snarling trombone<i> glissando<\/i> slides, strikingly suggests that this may not be such fun after all and that H\u00e1ry\u2019s delusional antics might have a dark side too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-container\" data-position=\"adhoc\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-title monetizer-title\" style=\"background-color: #; color: #000000\"\/> <div id=\"monetizerdeals\" data-type=\"price-comparison\" data-config=\"{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Janos-Galanta-Peacock-Variations-Fischer\/dp\/B0009YVC5Y\/ref=sr_1_6","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"0.7-1.3","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}\"\/> <div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text body-copy-extra-small editor-content\"\/><\/div> <p><iframe style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/kod%C3%A1ly-orchestral-favourites-vol-xx\/1105994699\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Istv\u00e1n Kert\u00e9sz (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\"s1\"><i>ELQ 480 4873<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Istv\u00e1n Kert\u00e9sz\u2019s premature death in 1973 was one of post-war music\u2019s tragedies. Fortunately he left a large recorded legacy, including this <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i>, whose vintage 1964 recorded sound still sounds fantastic. There\u2019s no shortage of the LSO\u2019s aren\u2019t-we-wonderful style of the period, but then again, they were (if rather over-loud): there\u2019s searching beauty in the Prelude and the \u2018Song\u2019, and outrageous virtuosity from the brass in the \u2018Battle with Napoleon\u2019 and \u2018Emperor\u2019s Court\u2019 movements. This is <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> as a high-class musical riot.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-container\" data-position=\"adhoc\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\"monetizerprice-comparison-title monetizer-title\" style=\"background-color: #; color: #000000\"\/> <div id=\"monetizerdeals\" data-type=\"price-comparison\" data-config=\"{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Orchestral-Works-Brighton-Festival-Chorus\/dp\/B009TT05XA\/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"9.1-16.9","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}\"\/> <div class=\"monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text body-copy-extra-small editor-content\"\/><\/div> <p><iframe style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/au\/album\/kodaly-hary-janos-bartok-duke-bluebeards-castle\/1452450534\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><strong><span class=\"s3\">And one to avoid\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">On the one hand, Antal Dor\u00e1ti\u2019s incisive conducting and the verve of the Minneapolis SO give much pleasure on this 1959 recording. On the other, the recorded sound may mean you want to approach it with caution. Mercury\u2019s \u2018Living Presence\u2019 process was clear and vivid for its time, but while the range of detail still impresses, the overall perspective has a clinical, bass-light quality that calls for adjustment.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Main image: <span class=\"s1\">Zs\u00f3fia K\u00e1lnay as Marie Louise in the full <i>H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos<\/i> opera in Budapest, 2017 \u00a9 Getty images<\/span><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Malcolm Hayes is enthralled by a Hungarian folk hero\u2019s swashbuckling tales as he searches out the best recordings of Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos orchestral suite <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31712,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-scaled.jpg",2560,1720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-300x202.jpg",300,202,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-768x516.jpg",768,516,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-1024x688.jpg",800,538,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-1536x1032.jpg",1536,1032,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/a-guide-to-kodalys-hary-janos-and-its-best-recordings-2048x1376.jpg",2048,1376,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Malcolm Hayes is enthralled by a Hungarian folk hero\u2019s swashbuckling tales as he searches out the best recordings of Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s H\u00e1ry J\u00e1nos orchestral suite","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/31711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}