Rózsa Overture to a Symphony Concert, Three Hungarian Sketches, Tripartita, Hungarian Serenade BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & Rumon Gamba

• Miklós Rózsa (1907 - 1995): Overture to a Symphony Concert, Op. 26a (Revised 1963):
• 1Rózsa: Overture to a Symphony Concert, Op. 26a (Revised 1963)09:14
• Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14:
• 2Rózsa: Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14: I. Capriccio (Revised 1958)05:06
• 3Rózsa: Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14: II. Pastorale (Revised 1958)07:17
• 4Rózsa: Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14: III. Danza (Revised 1958)07:52
• Tripartita, Op. 33:
• 5Rózsa: Tripartita, Op. 33: I. Intrada. Con moto - Poco animato - Poco meno mosso (Revised 1972)04:56
• 6Rózsa: Tripartita, Op. 33: II. Intermezzo arioso. Lento - Poco animato - Tempo I (Revised 1972)08:01
• 7Rózsa: Tripartita, Op. 33: III. Finale. Allegro con brio - Meno mosso, inquieto e nervosamente (Revised 1972)09:31
• Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25:
• 8Rózsa: Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25: I. Marcia (Revised 1946)04:12
• 9Rózsa: Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25: II. Serenata (Revised 1946)06:16
• 10Rózsa: Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25: III. Scherzo (Revised 1946)04:38
• 11Rózsa: Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25: IV. Notturno (Revised 1946)03:52
• 12Rózsa: Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25: V. Danza (Revised 1946)03:42
• Total Runtime01:14:37

Info for Rózsa Overture to a Symphony Concert, Three Hungarian Sketches, Tripartita, Hungarian Serenade

Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic here embark on a new orchestral series with music by Miklós Rózsa.

Rumon Gamba says of the project: ‘Having made many discs of the film music by composers whose concert works is well known, for example, Arnold and Vaughan Williams, I thought it would be interesting to look at a very well-known film composer and profile his concert works, which have perhaps been overshadowed by his big-screen successes. The orchestral music of Miklós Rózsa is extremely exciting, passionate and intoxicating, and deserves to be better known.’

Rózsa is one of the giants of the film world, with scores for Ben Hur, Quo Vadis and El Cid to name but a few. Gamba continues, ‘I expect fans of early twentieth-century classical music in general and of the big Hollywood scores alike will find this music arresting and intensely beautiful’.

Despite his many Hollywood film commitments, the composer always made time to write the music that was most important to him, that for the concert hall. Once settled in Hollywood, Rózsa was able to negotiate a beneficial contract which allowed him to spend the summer months writing his serious music at his Italian retreat, and the winter months in Hollywood composing music for films. The four works recorded on this first volume offer a strong impression of his concert style, one which the leading conductors of the day held in high regard. The ebullient Three Hungarian Sketches was the official Hungarian entry at the International Music Festival in Baden-Baden in 1938. The large late Tripartitia, composed in 1971, has an earthy quality but exudes also in places an evocative nocturnal mood. It is complemented by two works in a lighter vein, the Overture to a Symphony Concert and the Hungarian Serenade.

Rózsa developed a unique musical voice highly influenced by his Hungarian roots, and his works often dazzle with virtuosity. The BBC Philharmonic pull out all the stops to play these works with the precision and passion they require. This is the launch of a very special project for Chandos.

BBC Philharmonic
Rumon Gamba, conductor

Rumon Gamba
British conductor Rumon Gamba held the positions of Principal Conductor and Music Director of NorrlandsOperan between 2008 and 2015 and Chief Conductor of the Aalborg Symfoniorkester between 2011 and 2015. He was also Chief Conductor and Music Director of Iceland Symphony Orchestra between 2002 and 2010.

A champion of new music, Gamba has given several high profile premieres including the world premieres of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys at English National Opera, Brett Dean’s Viola Concerto with the composer and BBC Symphony Orchestra; national premieres of Poul Ruders’ Dancer in the Dark and Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Blood on the Floor and Scherzoid with Norrdlands Operan and the Australian premiere of the original version of Sibelius’ Symphony No.5 with Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 he conducted Larsson Gothe’s The African Prophetess with the orchestra of Norrdlands Operan and Cape Town Opera Chorus as part of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestras’ composer week.

He will appear at the 2017 Enescu Festival featuring works by Sven Helbig and Rolf Martinsson. He will record new works by Ittai Shapira with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and has been asked to collaborate with the composer Lotta Wennäkoski and the Kymisinfonietta. Gamba returned to the BBC Proms in 2017 to conduct a BBC commission by Michael Gordon for the jazz ensemble ​‘Bang on a Can All-Stars’ together with the Proms Youth Ensemble.

Rumon Gamba has conducted a number of operatic titles including Carmen, La bohème, Otello, Candide and a new production of Rigoletto. In celebration of Umeå’s status as European Capital of Culture 2014, he conducted NorrlandsOperan in an epic outdoor production of Elektra with La Fura dels Baus, which was critically acclaimed.

Gamba records exclusively for Chandos Records

Booklet for Rózsa Overture to a Symphony Concert, Three Hungarian Sketches, Tripartita, Hungarian Serenade