Notes and Editorial Reviews
RAJTER
Divertimento.
Suite symphonique. Pozsonyi majális:
Suite.
Sinfonietta.
Impressioni rapsodiche
•
David Porcelijn, cond; Janá?ek PO
•
CPO 777 574 (75:41)
Never heard of Ludovit Rajter? Neither had I until I received this disc. But what wonderful music we’ve been missing! Actually, Rajter might just possibly be known to some readers as a conductor, in which capacity he
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spent most of his long life (he died in 2000, three weeks shy of his 94th birthday). Rajter was born in Czechoslovakia, studied in Vienna and Budapest (Clemens Krauss and Dohnányi were among his conducting teachers), and spent most of his professional life in Bratislava conducting its radio orchestra and the Slovak Philharmonic. His few recordings include symphonies by Schmidt and Zemlinsky as well as assorted smaller pieces by Central European composers.
As a composer, Rajter is even less well known, at least on these shores. Although not so identified, all five works on this well-filled CD would seem to be world premiere recordings. L’ubomir Chalupka’s lengthy notes inform us that the Divertimento and the
Suite symphonique
have not been performed since pre-World War II days. The music spans Rajter’s creative life, from the Divertimento and
Suite symphonique
written in the early 1930s while the composer was studying in Budapest to the Sinfonietta and the
Impressioni rapsodiche
of six decades later, when Rajter was approaching 90.
Most amazing about this music is how varied it is stylistically. Listen to the opening of the Divertimento and you’d swear it was something by Bartók. Some passages from the
Suite symphonique
put you in a mood for a Spanish bullfight. Two movements of the suite from the ballet
Pressburg May Festival
might almost have been orchestrations of Rossini, while another could have been used for a scene in a toga-and-sandals film from the 1950s (when it was actually composed). There are movements that sound like Offenbach and others that sound for all the world like Dvo?ák’s
Slavonic Dances.
Here’s a bit that reminds you of Kodály’s
Háry János
, there a bit of Schmidt’s Fourth Symphony, elsewhere some orchestrations that put you in a John Barry/James Bond frame of mind, and even a tune from
E.T
. a quarter-century before the film was made! The two late works are not appreciably more harmonically advanced than their predecessors, but offer more cogent musical arguments.
One could easily accuse Rajter of being a master musical chameleon and leave it at that. But this music is all
good
. And
fun
! He chose his models well. Nearly every one of the 20 tracks contains something that captures and holds the attention. Adding luster to this release is the absolutely brilliant playing of the Janá?ek Philharmonic Orchestra, which boasts tremendous élan, hair-trigger ensemble, vivid contrasts in dynamics, and a bright, boldly assertive sound. If fault be found, it is in the somewhat overly reverberant acoustic setting, but don’t let this deter you from investigating a real find.
FANFARE: Robert Markow
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Works on This Recording
1.
Divertimento for Orchestra by Ludovic Rajter
Conductor:
David Porcelijn
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Hungary
2.
Suite symphonique by Ludovic Rajter
Conductor:
David Porcelijn
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Hungary
3.
Das Pressburger Maifest Suite by Ludovic Rajter
Conductor:
David Porcelijn
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Hungary
4.
Sinfonietta by Ludovic Rajter
Conductor:
David Porcelijn
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Hungary
5.
Impessioni rapsodiche by Ludovic Rajter
Conductor:
David Porcelijn
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Hungary
Sound Samples
Divertimento: II. Andante molto sostenuto
Divertimento: III. Allegretto
Divertimento: IV. Allegro vivace
Symphonic Suite: I. Allegro
Symphonic Suite: II. Presto possibile
Symphonic Suite: III. Molto vivace
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): I. Little Overture: Allegro vivace
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): II. March: Tempo di Marcia
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): III. Verbunk: Allegro moderato, marcato
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): IV. Menuetto
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): V. Serenade: Andante sostenuto
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): VI. Csardas: Allegro vivace
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): VII. Valse
Suite from Pozsonyi Majalis (Rag-Day): VII. Finale: Moderato - Presto
Sinfonietta: I. Allegro moderato
Sinfonietta: II. Scherzino: Presto
Sinfonietta: III. Andante, un poso sostenuto
Sinfonietta: IV. Finale: Allegro vivace
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