Hungaroton's Éljen a Magyar! Long Live the Hungarian is a collection of Hungarian patriotic favorites and froth, light music distinguishable from its more familiar Viennese counterpart through its references to the Verbunkos, the traditional slow, then fast recruiting dance utilized by the Hungarian army to attract young conscripts. There is not a single work of Franz Liszt to be found here, or
Bartók -- this is truly a "light music" collection centered in the nineteenth century. Some of the composers heard here are Viennese, namely Weber, Lanner, Ziehrer, and "Waltz King" Johann Strauss II. This makes sense, as from 1867 Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a dual monarchy that essentially joined these cultures in addition to unifying their political orientation and physical boundaries, an uneasy compromise that lasted until the events leading up to World War I ripped it apart. At least three of the pieces included -- Lanner's Pester-Walzer, Op. 93, Jözsef Müller's Kossuth March, and Berlioz's Rákóczi March -- predate 1867 by some time, but fit right into everything else that's included. Several of the more obscure pieces on Éljen a Magyar! Long Live the Hungarian are among the most interesting selections, in particular Béla Kéler's Ungarische Lustspiel Ouvertüre Op. 108, a well-crafted and absorbing light overture and Jakob Pazeller's lush and luxuriant Souvenir de Herkulesfürdõ, a slow waltz written in honor of a health resort located near the Transylvanian border.
The
Hungarian State Orchestra under
János Ferencsik turns in a terrific performance here; its playing is lively and spirited throughout, yet clearly voiced and polished, which makes a difference in slower, more pastoral pieces. Hungaroton's recording is surprisingly dry and direct, and very professionally made -- close your eyes and you might think you are listening to the
Vienna Philharmonic.