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Born in 1885, Leó Weiner's influence as a teacher in Budapest was exceptional – his pupils were some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. But it’s only in recent years that his compositions, with their synthesis of German Romantic and Hungarian elements, have been brought to wider appreciation. Fellow Hungarian conductor Valéria Csányi adds to her Naxos discography with this fourth and final volume in her series of Weiner's complete orchestral works.
Leó WEINER (1885–1960)
Complete Works for Orchestra, Vol. 4
Violin Concerto No. 1 *
Variations on a Hungarian Folksong • Serenade
Divertimento No. 3 ‘Hungarian Impressions’
MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest
Valéria Csányi
Leó Weiner was one of the most important of all Hungarian pedagogues as well as being a distinguished composer. The success of his Serenade, written when he was 21, was immediate – its light, intimate and richly melodic qualities, some of which derive from stylised Hungarian dances, are still captivating today. The Divertimento No. 3 and Variations on a Hungarian Folksong mine joyful music from a collection in Budapest’s Museum of Ethnography. The Violin Concerto No. 1 is a masterly orchestration of his Violin Sonata, Op. 9, alternating between the playful and the dramatic. The performance heard here restores 115 bars that were cut from the fourth movement, making this the first complete recording.
I. Moderato – Allegro non troppo
Júlia Pusker came to international prominence for her prizewinning performances at the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition. Recent highlights include her Wigmore Hall recital debut with pianist Christia Hudziy, and her performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, which was broadcast live on Medici TV. She plays the c. 1714 ‘Massart’ Antonio Stradivari violin kindly loaned to her through the Beare’s International Violin Society by the Pauk family.
Hungarian conductor Valéria Csányi studied at the Liszt Academy of Music at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Since 1983 she has served as a member of the Hungarian State Opera where she contributed to all the ballet productions between 1995 and 2009 and was involved in more than 700 performances overall. She has toured Austria, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Mexico, and has a successful Naxos discography of albums of works by Johann Strauss II, Erkel, Széchényi and Weiner.
Founded in 1945, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest is one of the leading orchestras in Hungary. Its repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary works, with an audience of over 50,000 people annually, reaching out to many more through radio and television broadcasts and online platforms. Successful tours have gained the orchestra acclaim across Europe and South America, as well as in China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Japan, Lebanon, Oman and South Korea.
Complete Orchestral Works, Vol. 3
Divertimentos Nos. 1 and 2
Romance • Pastorale, Fantasy and Fugue
Hungarian Nursery Rhymes and Folk Songs
Rohmann • Felletár
MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest
Csányi
– American Record Guide
Complete Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
Toldi – Symphonic Poem
MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest
Csányi
– AllMusic.com ★★★★
Complete Orchestral Works, Vol. 1
Csongor and Tünde
– Ballet (1959 Version)
Szűcs • Jubilate Girls Choir
MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest
Csányi
– MusicWeb International