Jenő Hubay - Scènes de la Csárda; Poèmes hongrois (Hagai Shaham; Arnon Erez)

Information

Composer: Jenő Hubay

CD1:

• (01-10) Scènes de la Csárda Nos. 1-10

CD2:

• (01-04) Scènes de la Csárda Nos. 11-14
• (05-10) Poèmes hongrois, Op. 27
• (11-16) Nouveaux poèmes hongrois, Op. 76

Hagai Shaham, violin
Arnon Erez, piano

Date: 2004
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67441/2

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Review

Gypsy campfire’ music from players who really understand the idiom

If ever there were a case of ‘the singer, not the song’ it’s here with these Scènes de la Csárda, attractive music played with the sort of heart-tugging abandon that many of us only know from old 78s. Hagai Shaham is another shining symbol of what I can only call the Fiddlers Renaissance, players not afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves – Nikolaj Znaider and Robert Gibbs are two more – and who take up the old traditions with fervour and conviction. 

Jenö Hubay’s music is based largely on popular Hungarian melodies from the 19th century, not folk music in the true ‘Magyar’ sense as Bartók and Kodály understood it, but the ‘pop’ of its day. The only one of these Scènes that really made it was the fourth, ‘Hajre Kati’, recorded by the likes of Mischa Elman, Alfredo Campoli and Carl Flesch (not to forget the Classic Buskers). Hubay himself recorded ‘The Wavy of Balaton’ and ‘My Little Turtle Dove’ but most of the rest are new to the catalogue. 

Many of the tunes are familiar from their use in Brahms, Liszt and Sarasate, either exactly as quoted or as near relations. The creative formula is mostly simple: lavish, rhapsodic opening sections full of major-minor shifts followed by fiery, faster music. Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen seems to have provided a workable template, certainly for No 7 ‘Kossuth’s Melody’, dedicated to Leopold Auer (all bear a dedication to a specific virtuoso), though it’s the first of the brief but charming Poèmes hongrois that actually quotes the tune used by Sarasate. 

Possibly the best, or should I say the boldest, of the Scènes is No 13, a relatively late piece (1903) dedicated to Jan Kubelík and harking back to late rather than middle Liszt. Shaham really digs into the piece, much as he does elsewhere, his tone firm and even, his vibrato varied to reflect different levels of intensity and his use of slides geared to genuine expressive ends, and not as a patronising afterthought designed to ‘show us how they used to play.’ In this and in his promotion of rare Romantic goodies he follows in the hallowed footsteps of Aaron Rosand, someone whose records of Hubay, Sarasate and Joachim still hold up as classics of their kind. Indeed, I’d describe Shaham’s playing as a stylistic cross between Rosand with his famously rich tone and the fragile ardour of the ill-fated Josef Hassid. 

So, a happy tale from start to finish, kitsch of the highest order served with style and panache both by Shaham (no relation to Gil by the way) 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 production.

-- Rob Cowan, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=1702
http://www.amazon.com/Hubay-Scenes-Csarda-Jeno/dp/B0001FYR26

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Jenő Hubay (15 September 1858 – 12 March 1937) was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Hubay was trained in violin and music by his father, Karl, and received instruction from Joseph Joachim in Berlin. As a soloist, he gained the praise of Vieuxtemps, Johannes Brahms and many others. He formed two string quartets, one of them was the Budapest Quartet. Hubay composed four violin concertos, a very large number of encore pieces, and also several operas. His pupils included Joseph Szigeti, André Gertler, Eugene Ormandy, Eugene Lehner and many more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jen%C5%91_Hubay

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Hagai Shaham (born July 8, 1966) is an Israeli violin virtuoso. He began studying the violin at the age of six and was the last student of the late Professor Ilona Feher. As a soloist he has performed with many of the world's major orchestras. He also performs as a recitalist and appears in chamber music performances. Shaham has recorded music of Achron, Bloch, Brahms, Hubay, Grieg, Mozart, and more for labels such as Biddulph, Hyperion, Avie, Naxos, Talent. He is also a violin teacher, and a professor at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagai_Shaham

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