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2CDs
Jerusalem Music Center, Israel
Produced by Eric Wen
Engineered by Vadim Beili
Release date: March 2004
Total duration: 148 minutes 50 seconds
'If ever there were a case of 'the singer, not the song' it's here with these Scènes de la Csârda, attractive music played with the sort of heart-tugging abandon that many of us only know from old 78s. A happy tale from start to finish, kitsch of the highest order served with style and panache by Shaham and his excellent pianist Arnon Erez. With comprehensive annotation by Amnon Shaham and first rate production by Eric Wen (a fine violinist and teacher) this seems set to become a benchmark recording' (Gramophone)
'Hagai Shaham's achievement here is heroic, and a monument to violin playing … If you are a violin sort of person, and the repertoire appeals, then buy these discs with confidence, as a tribute to a unique act of devotion to the cause by Shaham and Erez' (Fanfare, USA)
'It's music that needs passionate advocacy if it's not to sound trite, and Hagai Shaham, who's already made an outstanding disc of two of Hubay's Violin Concertos, has it in his soul' (BBC Music Magazine)
'the quality and commitment of the playing, beautifully recorded, gives considerable if unchallenging pleasure' (The Strad)
'Scènes de la Csârda could certainly be one of the records of the year' (Full review at ClassicalSource.com)
'Voici sans doute le plus bel hommage rendu au père fondateur de l'école hongroise de violon … Un répertoire rare, servi de magistrale façon.' (Diapason, France)
'Hagai Shaham has tremendous flair, extraordinary technical facility, and an organic musical sense that makes it difficult to stop listening' (American Guide)
CD1
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CD2
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No 1: D minor
[3'39]
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No 2: D major
[1'24]
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No 3: A major
[2'02]
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No 4: A minor
[1'37]
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No 5: B flat major
[2'00]
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No 6: B flat major
[2'08]
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No 1: C major
[3'54]
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No 2: E major
[2'00]
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No 3: B minor
[4'12]
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No 4: A major
[3'50]
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No 5: F major
[3'38]
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No 6: D minor
[2'26]
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These generously filled CDs present sparkling performaces of Hubay’s epic Scènes de la csárda alongside his two sets of Poèmes hongrois and provide their first complete recording. The Scènes are in the tradition of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies, Brahms’s Hungarian Dances and Sarate’s Zigeunerweisen, and reflect the nineteenth century’s fondness for romanticized gypsy music as a worthy source of entertainment in middle-class salons and at aristocratic balls. Written over a period of some forty years, these fourteen perfectly crafted showpieces are dedicated individually to many of the period’s most influential figures, several famous violin virtuosi among them. Passionate melodies and furious violinistic pyrotechnics combine to make this set into a classic of the genre. Hubay’s two sets of Poèmes hongrois, written in 1885 and 1899 respectively, take further folk-like melodies and transform them into highly elaborate miniatures every bit as worthy of exploration as their more glamorous cousins, the Scènes. A comprehensive booklet includes music examples illustrating each of the innumerable melodies used by Hubay |