Hungarian and proud of it!

I got hooked on Miklos Rozsa’s music as a high school kid, when I saw Ben Hur in a newly-remodeled theater in it’s first “roadshow” run. The Sound system in that theater was excellent, and I was blown away. I played the soundtrack album so often I imagine I was driving my parents crazy! I still have that old MGM LP. Rozsa’s later music for various films intrigued me, but none so much as Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, and some of his Film Noir work from the 1940s.

Rozsa, had written into his various contracts that he would have time off every year for concert composing. His Violin Concerto (1953) is one of the results. It was written specifically for Jascha Heifetz, who always set sparks flying when he played it. This recording by the LSO’s leader, Roman Simovic and conducted by Sir Simon Rattle is superb. Simovic may not set fire to the violin, but his is a deeper, more meaningful performance.

Simovic is also excellent in Bartok’s Violin Concerto #2, with the LSO conducted by Kevin John Edusei.

But the real commonality in these two works is each composer’s love of Hungarian folk music. Each work has bits and pieces of a Hungarian folk song I know I’ve heard. A direct quote? No, but… Rozsa also has a bit of that same song in his Theme, Variations, and Finale from 1933.

But the much more important point is that these two composers from the 20th Century show their love for the folk music of their native country in these very vivid and beautiful works. I have multiple recordings of each, but these would be my top recommendations.

The recording is excellent.