LÁSZLÓ LAJTHA (1892-1963): Complete Works for String Orchestra - Symphony “Les Soli” for String Orchestra, Harp and Percussion, Op. 33 (Simone Fontanelli [conductor] World Premiere Recording), Sinfoniettas No. 1, Op. 43 (Imre Rohmann [conductor]) and No. 2, Op. 62 (Péter Csaba [conductor]).
Catalogue Number: 01R009
Label: Budapest Music Center
Reference: BMC CD 189
Format: CD
Price: $15.98
Description: The 1941 Les Soli is 31 minutes of pure joy conveyed through the combination of Lajtha’s attachment to music of the 17th and 18th centuries filtered through the spirit of French music of the first half of the 20th. Each movement has a role for a soloist, respectively a double bass, a viola, a cello and, for the Féerique finale - a diaphanous delight of transparent and delicate orchestration - a very busy violin. You’d never know that there was a war on. Neither would you know that one had just ended in the first Sinfonietta of 1946, a classically balanced three-movement piece of 20 minutes with light, airy orchestration contributing to its playful, divertimento-style mood. Only in the 1956 Sinfonietta do we find dark echoes of the baleful times of the goings-on that year in Hungary but even these are limited to moments of melancholy and a few threatening sounds in the first movement and a passionate slow movement reminiscent of Szekely-style folk laments because the bustling finale with its Hungarian folk music elements brings a carefree end to this 24-minute work. Budapest Chamber Symphony.