Zoltan Kodály
(1882-1967)
Theatre Overture (1927)
Concerto for Orchestra (1939-40)
Dances of Marosszék (1923-7)
Symphony in C Major (1961)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Yan Pascal Tortelier
Chandos CHAN9811 71:18
The Dances of Marosszék are fairly well-known but the remainder of the works on this disc are heard much less often. Other than the dances, the music does not draw on Kodály's folk song collecting, but there are indications within the music that he was a Hungarian composer. The overture and the Concerto are each in one movement running about 15 minutes. Although not completed until towards the end of his long life, the symphony had its gestation in the 1930s and to a large extent is a product of that era.
