Eugene Zádor (1894-1977)
Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV
Mariusz Smolij
Naxos 8.572548
Release date: 30/04/12
- Five Contrasts
- A Children’s Symphony
- Aria and Allegro
- Hungarian Capriccio
- Csárdás Rhapsody
Eugene Zádor was a remarkable colourist and orchestrator
whose Hollywood film work was extensive. He described himself as a ‘middle of
the road extremist’. The Aria and Allegro is a beautifully crafted work brimming
with rhythmic energy. Five Contrasts for Orchestra demonstrates his rich sound
world at its most vibrant; film noir jostling with a bigbooted country dance.
The lighter A Children’s Symphony is one of his most popular pieces –
communicative, witty, accessible. We also hear two small and captivating
evocations of his native Hungary.
None of these pieces has been recorded before. One of
Zádor’s major works, Christopher Columbus, is on Cambria coupled with the
Studies for orchestra. Zádor’s music is hugely approachable, and exciting, as
befits a Hollywood orchestrator. He was great friends with Miklós Rózsa and
shares that communicative spirit and sense of colour (in fact he was Rózsa’s own
orchestrator).