Zoltán Kodály: Dances of Galánta | Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra & Cristian Mandeal | George Enescu Festival | 19.09.2023 | Bucharest Palace Hall
Recorded from public broadcast. Enjoy!
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The piece was composed on commission for the 80th anniversary of the Budapest Philharmonic Society. It is based on folk music of Galánta (now part of Slovakia), where Kodály lived for several years. The composer remarked: "At that time there existed a famous Gypsy band...This was the first 'orchestral' sonority that came to the ears of the child...About 1800 some books of Hungarian dances were published in Vienna, one of which contained music 'after several Gypsies from Galánta'...the composer has taken his principal themes from these old publications". Most of the pieces used were of the verbunkos style - originally developed as military recruiting music, but generalizing to a Hungarian folk tradition in the early 1800s. Kodály saw the piece as a "sequel" to his 1927 piano suite (later orchestrated) Dances of Marosszék. (wikipedia)