Zoltán Kodály: Theatre Overture; Concerto for Orchestra; Dances of Marosszék; Symphony

1	Theatre Overture (Szinház
2	Concerto for orchestra
3	Dances of Marosszék (Maro
4	Symphony in C major: Alle
5	Symphony in C major: Anda
6	Symphony in C major: Vivo
Zoltán Kodály: Theatre Overture; Concerto for Orchestra; Dances of Marosszék; Symphony
1.	Theatre Overture 15:08
	Composed by Zoltán Kodály
	Performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier
2.	Concerto for orchestra 16:07
	Composed by Zoltán Kodály
	Performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier
3.	Dances of Marosszék for orchestra or piano 13:18
	Composed by Zoltán Kodály
	Performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier
4.	Symphony in C major 26:43
	Composed by Zoltán Kodály
	Performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier

Barnes & Noble

His posthumous reputation has placed him in the shadow of his friend and colleague Béla Bartók as the second-greatest Hungarian modernist, and Zoltán Kodály didn't help his case much by devoting more time to music education than to composition. Yet Kodály's handful of orchestral works -- not to mention his choral music and some striking works for cello -- are gems. Aside from the popular, folksy "Dances of Marosszék," the pieces on this album by Yan Pascal Tortelier and the BBC Philharmonic are little known. He composed his Concerto for Orchestra a few years before Bartók wrote his famed work of the same name; Kodály's is far more compact, a single movement alternating energetic folk rhythms with flowing melody. The composer labored for decades on his Symphony in C, finishing the distinctive work in 1961. Often pastoral in tone, with the flavor of Hungarian melody still evident, it's a rebelliously conservative piece -- how many other symphonies during those avant-garde years proclaimed a tonal key so openly, and sunny C major to boot? In both of these works, as well as the irresistible "Marosszék" dances and the dramatic "Theatre Overture" (a revision of his overture to the singspiel "Háry János"), the musicians deliver vibrant performances that will make you glad to let Kodály keep his old pal Bartók company in your record collection. Scott Paulin