Miklos Rozsa

Started by tjguitar, April 22, 2007, 01:12:30 PM

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tjguitar

Listening to the excellent TELARC disc of Rozsa's violin and cello concerto's....I'm a big fan. Some of my favorite concertos.

Also yesterday I received the recently released complete score re-recording of Rozsa's score to The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes which was based on his violin concerto. The violin soloist is Lucie Svehlova, it is quite good!

Anyone else a fan of Rozsa?

MishaK

I became a convert yesterday. The CSO each year has a fundraiser for the purpose of which they issue a 2CD set of goodies from their rich broadcast archives. This year's "From the Archives" release includes the Sinfonia concertante Op.29 for violin and cello by Rozsa in its world premiere performance by former CSO concertmaster Victor Aitay (who was friends with Rozsa and was instrumental in pushing him to get the work completed) and CSO legendary principal cellist Frank Miller (formerly NBC principal cello under Toscanini) under the direction of Jean Martinon. I received my copy just the other day and listened to the Rozsa yesterday. Great piece and fabulous performance. I heartily recommend the disc to everyone. It's available only from the CSO store and includes other goodies such as Alex Klein performing the Mozart Oboe Concerto under Eschenbach, Donald Peck performing Gould's Flute Concerto with Solti conducting and John Sharp and six more CSO cellists performing Boulez's Messagesquisses under Barenboim's direction.

Cato

Rosza RAWKS!   

Ben-Hur!!!  What else do you need?  (Check out Charlton Heston sweatin' to Rosza on your left!)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

tjguitar

Quote from: Cato on April 22, 2007, 05:42:25 PM
Rosza RAWKS!   

Ben-Hur!!!  What else do you need?  (Check out Charlton Heston sweatin' to Rosza on your left!)

....El Cid.

Cato

Quote from: tjguitar on April 22, 2007, 05:46:04 PM
....El Cid.

Yes, another great one, and you might as well throw in King of Kings!

Which a wag nick-named I Was a Teenage Jesus    >:D
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

sound67

There was an extended Rózsa thread in the old forum.

This year is Rózsa's centenary (1907-1995), and a few new recordings of his concert works are forthcoming, including a Russian recording of the Violin Concerto and Sinfonia Concertante for Naxos - one which, given the performers, is bound to be just an also-ran alongside McDuffie (my favorite), Heifetz or even Gruppman (on Koch).

Last year Philippe Graffin and Rafael Wallfisch released their version of the Sinfonia Concertante, coupled with the Cello Concerto. But in the op.29 I clearly prefer the CPO disc, played by Anton Agoston and Laszlo Fenyö and the Philharmonia Hungarica under Werner Andreas Albert. In the Cello Concerto, there is a choice between Janos Starker (the dedicatee) and Lynn Harrell. Both versions are superior to Wallfisch's.

There will also be a Naxos CD with the music for solo violin, played by Philip Quint. And then there will be at least one new recording of Rózsa's two string quartets - which I know because I am currently producing it. No.1 is already in the can.

Thomas
"Vivaldi didn't compose 500 concertos. He composed the same concerto 500 times" - Igor Stravinsky

"Mozart is a menace to musical progress, a relic of rituals that were losing relevance in his own time and are meaningless to ours." - Norman Lebrecht

tjguitar

#6
Quote from: sound67 on April 22, 2007, 10:37:41 PM
There was an extended Rózsa thread in the old forum.

This year is Rózsa's centenary (1907-1995), and a few new recordings of his concert works are forthcoming, including a Russian recording of the Violin Concerto and Sinfonia Concertante for Naxos - one which, given the performers, is bound to be just an also-ran alongside McDuffie (my favorite), Heifetz or even Gruppman (on Koch).

Last year Philippe Graffin and Rafael Wallfisch released their version of the Sinfonia Concertante, coupled with the Cello Concerto. But in the op.29 I clearly prefer the CPO disc, played by Anton Agoston and Laszlo Fenyö and the Philharmonia Hungarica under Werner Andreas Albert. In the Cello Concerto, there is a choice between Janos Starker (the dedicatee) and Lynn Harrell. Both versions are superior to Wallfisch's.

There will also be a Naxos CD with the music for solo violin, played by Philip Quint. And then there will be at least one new recording of Rózsa's two string quartets - which I know because I am currently producing it. No.1 is already in the can.

Thomas


I believe ASV recently released a disc of the String Quartets with the Flesch Quartet as well.  I wish Koch would reissue their discs for the centenary. Most of them are out of print and fetch extremely high prices.

sound67

The Flesch Quartet's recordings were made in 2002, and they're still in print. However, in preparing our own recording we realized that while they're a good quartet and their playing is smooth, many dynamic and tempi details of the quartets were ironed out in favor of rather bland "nice sound". Our recording will be closer to the composer's original vision.

The Koch versions of Rózsa's orchestral works were all mediocre, but at least they allowed a comprehensive overiview of the "concert part" of Rózsa's self-admitted "double life".

Thomas
"Vivaldi didn't compose 500 concertos. He composed the same concerto 500 times" - Igor Stravinsky

"Mozart is a menace to musical progress, a relic of rituals that were losing relevance in his own time and are meaningless to ours." - Norman Lebrecht

vandermolen

#8
Count me in as a Rozsa fan.  "Ben Hur" is the best and I have many different versions of this great score. I've just bought the CD with the Cello Concerto which is great. Also, his score for "Double Indemnity" is excellent as is "Julius Caesar", especially the haunting "Ides of March" sequence.  CD below is a great compilation:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Great-Shakespeare-Dmitry-Shostakovich/dp/B0000042GH/ref=sr_1_27/026-0945451-0042845?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177494296&sr=1-27
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

tjguitar

One of my favorite releases of the year!



pjme

#10
But we do need a new "Thief of Bagdad" !!!!Splendid score, and "Jungle book" - complete.


Guido

#11
For the cello concerto there is also a very fine recording by Brinton Smith now sadly out of print.

I am very excited that the viola concerto is out on Naxos this month.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Dundonnell

Quote from: Dundonnell on October 16, 2008, 07:06:26 AM
I wasn't entirely sure whether to buy this cd although I love the rich and colourful concertos Rozsa wrote for piano, violin, viola and cello.

Very glad that I did though because the music does demonstrate that Rozsa was not only a masterful orchestrator but a composer of genuine substance(quite apart from his film scores). The Three Hungarian Sketches were Hungary's official entry to the 1938 International Music Festival in Baden-Baden and comprise a more meaty work than the title might suggest while the late(1971) Tripartita is a splendidly grand and imposing piece which shows considerable development in Rozsa's idiom. It is perhaps unfortunate that he did not have time to write more in this vein!

My comments on the new Chandos cd of music by Rozsa.

springrite

Incidentally, every published piece by Rozsa has been recorded and commercially released. Not many composers can say that, and that's saying something.

Incidentally, I strongly recommend a KOCH CD of unaccompanied violin works. Unlike the film scores and the concerti, these are works that are little known, but gems nonetheless. Isabella Lippi whom I know well is a very good violinist.

tjguitar

QuoteIncidentally, every published piece by Rozsa has been recorded and commercially released. Not many composers can say that, and that's saying something.

Unfortunately most are on the KOCH label and very expensive on the secondary market.

karlhenning

A lot of Koch titles are being repackaged by Naxos.

tjguitar

Quote from: karlhenning on December 03, 2008, 12:14:37 PM
A lot of Koch titles are being repackaged by Naxos.

Would be cool if they repackage the Rozsa's.

Dundonnell

My understanding is that the Rozsa releases on Naxos are new recordings not reissues of the performances previously available on Koch.

tjguitar

Quote from: Dundonnell on December 03, 2008, 05:40:04 PM
My understanding is that the Rozsa releases on Naxos are new recordings not reissues of the performances previously available on Koch.

I'm pretty sure you are correct.

karlhenning

Quote from: Dundonnell on December 03, 2008, 05:40:04 PM
My understanding is that the Rozsa releases on Naxos are new recordings not reissues of the performances previously available on Koch.

Better still:  provides work for musicians now.