Dances F/Galanta

Why should you care about mono recordings made by an almost-forgotten conductor who's been dead since 1958? Well, just listen to these Kodaly performances! Few conductors have ever matched Rodzinski in the color and excitement department. And no conductor in my experience consistently delivers such panache in the context of performances that are remarkable, overall, for their exploration of nuance and subtlety. It's really impossible to over-praise these performances, and the magnificent sound quality on this mono CD (from 1956 Westminster analog mastertapes) is a surprising bonus. Most of Rodzinski's Westminster recordings were recorded mono-only; all are now being systematically reissued by Deutsche Grammophon as CDs remastered to state-of-the-art 24Bit/96KHz specifications. Overall, the quality of DG/Westminster CDs issued so far (summer 2002) has been extraordinarily fine. But the quality of recorded sound captured on this Kodaly/Ippolitov-Ivanov CD is so good as to be almost unbelievable.

Still and all, in the final analysis it's the quality of the performances that count and, as such, these CDs are a cause for celebration. Just listen and I think you'll agree that they are a "must buy" for anyone who is tired of the facelessness of today's sound-alike recordings, where Hungarian music sounds like Czech sounds like Dutch sounds like French ..... Rodzinski's Kodaly (and Ippolitov-Ivanov) performances hearken back to a day when even virtuoso, international superstar conductors had been trained (on-the-job or in conservatories) within specific traditions of performance style and sound. Rodzinski wasn't Hungarian, but his provenance in the old Central Europe of the Habsburgs meant he was trained to hear and feel the sounds and rhythms of Hungarian music as something unique. Russian music too. In short, these performances represent a quality of music-making that we can only hear on old records, and we thank our lucky stars when the recordings sound as good as this one! Other DG Rodzinski reissues include magnificent stereo performances of Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos [with Erica Morini]Brahms, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos, a nonpareil stereo Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Ballet and Fourth Symphony Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (complete) / Symphony No. 4 (complete), plus a stunning mono set of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances Slavonic Dances. Tchaikovsky's 5th and 6th symphonies, along with the Dvorak "New World," also have been released Symphonies 5 & 6 / Symphony 9 in E Minor. So thank your lucky stars .... and buy these CDs!

To their immense credit DG now has offered two fifty year old performances from their vaults of the music of Kodaly, this one under Rodzinski, taken from the Westminster library, and their own equally stunning version under the baton of Fricsay. Both are must buys!

Kodaly's musical idiom effortlessly blends the modernism he discovered in his studies in Paris at the beginning of the century with his own profound exploration of folk music. A close friend and champion of Bartok, Kodaly wrote several fine chamber works in the early part of his career before he became well known for the orchestra works included on this CD. One of the most fascinating lives in the history of music, Kodaly's influence on music education remains his lasting contribution to 20th century music, even more important than his bequiling compositions.

The music on this CD is easily enjoyed, the compositions filled with what must be the pick of Kodaly's thousands of folk melodies, all emblazoned by a propulsive urgent sense for rhythm. The composer's grasp of orchestra coloring manifests itself in the outstanding orchestration. Best of all, Kodaly enjoyed a particularly delightful sense of humor, which sweeps up the listener in the most famous of these works, the music from Hary Janos. A musical story about a teller of tall tales filled to overflowing with musical jokes it recalls the boisterous high spirits of Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche.

Adding some additional biographical information to the only previous (and superb) review - Rodzinski was the conductor for several major orchestras in America. Save his time at Cleveland these tenures were never for very long, certainly nothing like what was usually the case back in the thirties and forties. His was a major talent, and listing his appointments and accomplishments reveals why such recordings as this one are so memorable and worth reissuing.

Initially Rodzinski trained for the law as well as music. However, his love of music turned him to a career as a conductor. Following the First World War he was in Poland, including leading performances at the major opera house in Warsaw. The twenties found Rodzinski emigrating to America, where he found work as an assistant conductor for none other than Leopold Stowkowski with the sensational Philadelphia Orchestra in the dawn of its glory days. After leaving Philadelphia for a short stay with the LA Philharmonic Rodzinski took over the Cleveland orchestra in 1933; during the next ten years he did for it what Stowkowski had done for the Philadelphia, rebuilding a regional quality orchestra into a major elite group. Early into his tenure with the Cleveland Rodzinski's talent for building a quality orchestra was noticed by NBC; he it was who put together the famous NBC Symphony Orchestra familiar to everyone today in the Toscanini recordings. At the height of his career Rodzinski was tapped for music director of the New York Philharmonic. He became nationally famous through weekly CBS radio broadcasts. Sadly, almost none of this live material has surfaced on CD, though a few issued recordings of Rodzinski and the New York Philharmonic exist. Rodzinski left New York for the Chicago, but he only lasted a year there after a very highly contentious relationship. (Not unusual for Chicago, see Kubelik's tenure for a similar mess.)

Rodzinski's orchestras all display very similar characteristics, particularly a notable palette for color, and crisp, taut playing mixed with exquisite balancing of the sections. Listening to such music-making might be compared to watching a master diamond-cutter, with the myriad orchestra sounds brilliantly displayed in a formal clarity not unlike a superbly cut diamond. One wonders how much of Cleveland's fame under Szell was built under Rodzinki's prior leadership, or the brilliance of the Chicago as heard under Kubelik and Reiner.

In any event these performances exceed most of my own concert-going and record collecting parameters. This includes such demons in these works as Ormandy and Solti. The Dances from Galanta left me stunned. Wow, now this is music-making! The other selections are very well-played as well.

This CD was issued in 2002 along with several other Westminster reissues through DG. Hats off to DG for letting us enjoy such remarkable and joyous performances! Over fifty years later these performances with the Royal Philharmonic, like great bottles of vintage Latour, just keep improving! The Dances of Galanta are truly a classic performance!

If you are shy of a monophonic recording try this tip - turn the sound up!
At a certain level you will be so engulfed in volume as to no longer notice such things. You'll be too busy going - WOW!

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  5.0 out of 5 stars