Hyperion Records

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.

In fact, much of what was popularized as ‘gypsy’ music had its origins in the popular music of the middle classes rather than in the true Magyar folk tradition. The majority employed popular melodies of the early nineteenth century, often drawn from bands as well as from operatic and stage music by composers such as Ignác Bognár, Miska Borzó, Béni Egressy, Béla Kéler, N Mérty, Adolf Nittinger, Kálmán Simonffy, Elemér Szentirmay, Lujza Oláh, János Lavotta and János Bihari. Only after the rigorous ethnomusicological research into Hungarian folk music pioneered by Bartók and Kodály in the early twentieth century was a true distinction made between ‘genuine’ and ‘pastiche’ gypsy music.

Nevertheless, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, gypsy bands became extremely popular, especially in restaurants and taverns. These ensembles were usually made up of a principal violin (the ‘prímás’), a double bass (or cello) and a cimbalom (a stringed instrument played with two wooden hammers). Other instruments, such as the ‘tárogató’ (a relative of the clarinet family) and a second violin or viola, were sometimes added. At times these ensembles could be expanded to as many as one hundred members. This ‘gypsy’ music provided a worthy source of entertainment for the middle classes, and one particular form, the csárdas, became fashionable at aristocratic balls (such as Prince Orlofsky’s party depicted in Act II of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus).

Hubay’s Scènes de la csárda follow Liszt’s model and were composed over a period of forty years, from 1879 until 1920. They were intended for the composer’s own use, both in concert performance and for teaching. Originally written for violin and piano, some were later orchestrated by the composer, and many of them were dedicated to prominent violinists as well as other important contemporary figures.

Hubay composed two sets of Poèmes hongrois. Opus 27, the first of them, was composed in 1885. The set of six short pieces based on popular, folk-like melodies is dedicated to the Czech violinist František Ondrícek; each individual piece is dedicated to a violinist or a friend.

The Nouveaux poèmes hongrois are dedicated to the violinist Jaques Thibaud. The subtitle ‘On popular themes’ indicates the origin of the melodies. Unlike the first, this second set of Poèmes is highly elaborate and uses more than one melody in most of the pieces. It was written during a prolific period for the composer in 1899 as his Opus 76.

Amnon Shaham © 2004