Like many composers of his generation,
Miklós Rózsa supplemented his earnings from concert hall compositions with scores for the silver screen.
Rózsa was highly successful as a film composer, earning Oscars for his work on Ben Hur, Spellbound, and A Double Life. His true passion, however, still rested outside the movie studio. His compositions ranged across nearly every major genre, and extended throughout the majority of his long life. This Chandos album, the second volume dedicated to
Rózsa's orchestral works, begins his Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song, a work for solo violin and orchestra that
Rózsa penned while a student at the Leipzig Conservatory. This is no typical student work, though. Already
Rózsa's intricate synthesis of folk idioms with classical techniques is quite developed, and the solo part is extremely demanding in parts while remaining idiomatic to the instrument. Vol. 2 also includes the fiery, virtuosic Op. 32 Cello Concerto -- written for
Janos Starker -- the Op. 23a Vintner's Daughter, and Op. 28 Notturno Ungherese, both scored for
Eugene Ormandy and the
Philadelphia Orchestra. Performing here is the
BBC Philharmonic under
Rumon Gamba, with violinist
Jennifer Pike and cellist
Paul Watkins. Both soloists deliver meticulous readings of their respective works while at the same time capturing Hungarian flair, rhythmic panache, and melodic sensuousness that distinguishes
Rózsa's music.
Gamba and the BBC provide sensitive but robust accompaniments as well as rich, vibrant performances of the works for orchestra.