Ferenc Farkas: Symphony

[Alan Howe]

Dating from 1952, this is something of a surprise: a Symphony composed in a conservative style with a very fine slow movement, 'Elegia' - please try track 8:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9774618--ferenc-farkas-orchestral-music-vol-6

[eschiss1]

I will say this though- in what other period did one have a range of music from on the one hand e.g. Bax, Bowen, Myaskovsky, Medtner (both died earlier in the decade), Prokofiev, Lajtha, Nono, Ligeti... to be very brief and not even considering popular music, jazz, etc. As Alan Walker points out, the greatest heat of the debates of the "War of the Romantics" (and likewise, the critical arguments of the 18th century, some of which I've read) were over things our ears barely notice now. (Though some of those arguments are useful to learn about rather than risk assuming that some things have always been the same- as when Mozart was criticized for operatic techniques in his sacred music.)
Anyway. Sorry. Thanks for the info, will try to have a listen to it soon!

[Alan Howe]

The Symphony seems to be in a much more traditional idiom than the other music I've heard by the composer. Please see the explanation on the reverse of the CD:

[eschiss1]

There is also, I see in the Szechenyi Library records, a "Szegedi szökőkút szimfónia", Szeged Fountain Symphony, from 1979.
(Btw an Andras Farkas prepared a catalog of Ferenc's works sometime around 1999-2006 or so that's in the possession of several libraries but which I haven't seen.)