Unsung Composers

The Music => Composers & Music => Topic started by: britishcomposer on Saturday 25 February 2012, 21:24

Title: Alexander Moyzes (1906-84)
Post by: britishcomposer on Saturday 25 February 2012, 21:24
I see we have no thread dedicated to this great Slovak composer, so here it is!  :D

The main reason for posting is a question for the source of a recording of his piano concerto:
According to the Music Centre Slovakia http://www.hc.sk/src/skladatel_print.php?oid=985&lg=en (http://www.hc.sk/src/skladatel_print.php?oid=985&lg=en) several version of this work exist.
I recorded a 14-minute piece in two movements from the BBC some years ago. The announcer called it simply 'a piano concerto'.
The pianist was Ida Cernecka, the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra accompanied. I cannot understand the name of the conductor (Marian Vach, perhaps?)
Can you help me? Has this recording been released commercially? If not has anyone a better copy than mine for upload?
Title: Re: Alexander Moyzes (1906-84)
Post by: vandermolen on Sunday 26 February 2012, 20:27
The Symphony No 7 is very impressive. A deeply poignant and eloquent work dedicated to Moyzes's daughter who died tragically young. There is a Marco Polo CD (MDT are selling them off at £2.75 at the moment but I'm not sure if the Moyezes's Symphony No 7 is included).
Title: Re: Alexander Moyzes (1906-84)
Post by: Sydney Grew on Monday 27 February 2012, 05:37
Quote from: britishcomposer on Saturday 25 February 2012, 21:24. . . The pianist was Ida Cernecka, the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra accompanied. I cannot understand the name of the conductor (Marian Vach, perhaps?)
Can you help me? Has this recording been released commercially? If not has anyone a better copy than mine for upload?

I did record this work a few years ago from a continental broadcast. The performance is probably the same as in your B.B.C. recording, but the announcements (included in mine) are in Slovak or Hungarian. I too cannot make out the name of the conductor - beyond "Marian."

What I will do later to-day, then, is to post it, so that you can make a comparison. Bear in mind that this comes from a not very wonderful Internet stream, so if in your judgement your recording sounds better, just let me know and I will delete mine.
Title: Re: Alexander Moyzes (1906-84)
Post by: britishcomposer on Monday 27 February 2012, 15:59
Sidney, thank you very much for the Moyzes Piano Concerto! :D
Your recording is definitely superior to mine, which has a few skips, so I am quite happy with it!
Title: Re: Alexander Moyzes (1906-84)
Post by: Holger on Thursday 01 March 2012, 21:14
Moyzes is a composer I really like a lot, his symphonies contain some magnificent music. I cannot go into detail here because it would take too much time for now, but maybe I will write a bit more about my view on his music at a later point.

As for the Piano Concerto, as far as I understand things, the piece was originally composed as Concertino for Orchestra Op. 18 in 1933. In 1941, Moyzes decided to revise the piece as a piano concerto but then he abandoned the project. A completion was done posthumously by Ivan Hrušovský (1927–2001) and premiered in 1994.

The recording Sydney uploaded is played by Ida Černecká (Piano) and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marian Vach.

Moyzes later reused the material of the concerto in his Sixth Symphony, I therefore assume he wasn't interested in completing the piano concerto any more.
Title: Re: Alexander Moyzes (1906-84)
Post by: britishcomposer on Thursday 01 March 2012, 21:27
Ah, thanks, Holger!
I had a strange feeling when I first heard the concerto - as if I had heard it before. Now I see it was the 6th Symphony material which I did not recognise then!  :D