# Kodály: Háry János, op. 15 (including the suite)



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Kodály's _Háry János_ is currently on the 50th tier of the Talk Classical community's favorite and most highly recommended works.

That's pretty good -- only 11% of the works are recommended more strongly -- but I'd like to give it even more love.

Wikipedia has a pretty good article about it. We have a guestbook thread on Kodály, but I believe this is the first thread dedicated to this work in the entire history of talkclassical!

To be sure, the full opera is probably not going to be everyone's cup of tea -- it's humorous and it's opera, after all. In particular, a famous recording by Kertész featuring the actor Peter Ustinov is very divisive: I love it, and I'm far from alone here, but I have heard of people who can't stand it. After all, it's humorous and it's opera....

As usual when there is an opera and suites, the suite is probably more to most people's taste, all the pretty musical highlights without any of the boring or funny stuff.

I hope some of you will let us know how you feel about the original work and the suites, and perhaps let us know some of your favorite recordings.

Thanks!


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Well, I love the music from the suite very much. I've had a study score for 50 years and studied it for years. It's a lot of fun to play the suite, especially when a real cimbalon player is part of the orchestra. The complete score is interesting, Ustinov annoying, but in general I avoid and dislike music with narrators. At least they did it in English!

Over the years I've collected many recordings of the suite, but one of them - Szell's - is still the best. Who knew that such a stern, humorless conductor had it in him? But I wouldn't want to be without the Fricsay, either. The Ormandy RCA reading is excellent, too. Odd, all the conductors are Hungarian.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Kertesz/LSO is really excellent, so is Jarvi/CSO...I wish Reiner had recorded it....


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

Great piece, great recordings too. Also Leinsdorf / BSO. As with Reiner, this kind of thing was in his wheelhouse.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I see I have a handful-plus-a -few copies of the _Háry János _Suite in my collection, on both vinyl and CD. My favorite of those is the Antal Dorati reading with the Minneapolis Symphony. But I nearly enjoy anything featuring these two forces together.









The Suite is truly a fun piece to listen to. So much goes on in the orchestration, and a great sound system helps everything really come to life on the better recordings. Demonstration disc stuff, this.

But for the sheer fun of the music, the Suite disc I enjoy most is the Rico Saccani / Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra reading, one of the Classic Masterpieces discs on the BPO Live label.









I have some 20 or so of these Budapest Phil Live discs featuring conductor Saccani, and every one is a gem. Some of the liveliest sounding recordings in my collection. They provide me always with a prime seat in the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, where the music is recorded. The "live" ambience of the vivid recordings is a plus, adding greatly to the verisimilitudinous effect of these Sacci performances.

To continue with vivid performances of the _H.J._ Suite, I can also turn to a Telarc disc featuring the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yoel Levi.









My final recommendation from among the _Háry János_ Suites in my collection is the Sergiu Comissiona /Baltimore Symphony Orchestra recording on the MMG (Moss Music Group) label. A digital recording in crystalline sound, I think of it as a kind of "off beat", folksy sounding (which doesn't hurt this work a bit) yet exhiliarating performance of the Kodaly masterpiece.









If I were to choose one of these four recordings to listen to right now, I would probably go for the Comissiona/BSO reading. But any one of these will serve one well. They certainly work for me.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

No love here for either of Ferenc Fricsay's recordings on DGG? Both are great, but I reckon the later one, from 1961, is that little bit more spontaneous, and better recorded than the 1954 one.

Dorati runs him close, and I really enjoy the Ivan Fischer on Philips.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

George Szell did this and similar music well. I think this one of his better collections


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

^ It was Szell that made me like the thing. I don't like it Romanticized like some others do it.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Hary is one of music's most lovable rogues, and apart from the obvious humour in the piece, I also like the underlying sense of melancholy. That contrast in moods can also be found in Copland's American themed ballets. I particularly like the incorporation of cimbalom and saxophone.

The first recording I had was Dorati's, on tape. Prior to a few big culls, I had two on disc that where excellent, Leinsdorf and also Hungarian State/Antal Matyas (Naxos).

Currently I've got Berlin/Fricsay, which incidentally David Hurwitz had as his first choice (



). The disc is a fine collection of key works by Kodaly and, apart from his _Concerto for Orchestra_, it's all that I have by him.

A reserved man, and a sharp wit to those who closely knew him, Kodaly's integrity was widely admired. He was a true patriot, dedicated to social justice. He refused to betray his comrades in the resistance when being interrogated by the Gestapo during WWII and subsequently had to go into hiding for fear of his life.

Yehudi Menuhin commissioned a solo violin sonata but never received it. Kodaly worked on it for many years, but only got as far as two pages. He later returned Menuhin's cheque saying that the royalties he received from his "band music" (presumably Hary Janos and the folk dance settings) meant that he wouldn't need the money anyway. Apart from composing, Kodaly was especially busy in the field of music education.


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