Three other great recordings
Iván Fischer (conductor)
Fischer’s Háry János with the Budapest Festival Orchestra is deft and enjoyable, with soulful depth in the ‘Song’ third movement and coruscating virtuoso detail in the ‘Emperor’s Court’ finale. There’s also an imaginative choice of additional material, all sparklingly performed – the orchestral Dances of Marosszék and Dances of Galánta, some superbly sung children’s choruses (a legacy of the composer’s lifetime of teaching activity), plus excerpts from the original Háry János opera score. (Philips 462 8242)
Ádám Fischer (conductor)
Recorded in 2007, Ádám Fischer’s interpretation is entirely different from his brother Iván’s – broader and more probing, with spacious recorded sound to match and handsome, grandmanner playing by the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra. The ‘Song’ third movement’s lyrical sadness is wonderfully conveyed, with magnificent clarinet and oboe solos recalling the story-telling manner of Rimskykorsakov’s Scheherazade. And the fourth movement’s ‘Battle and Defeat of Napoleon’, with snarling trombone
glissando slides, strikingly suggests that this may not be such fun after all and that Háry’s delusional antics might have a dark side too. (Nimbus NI 7081)
István Kertész (conductor)
István Kertész’s premature death in 1973 was one of postwar music’s tragedies. Fortunately he left a large recorded legacy, including this Háry János, whose vintage 1964 recorded sound still sounds fantastic. There’s no shortage of the LSO’S aren’t-we-wonderful style of the period, but then again, they were (if rather over-loud): there’s searching beauty in the Prelude and the ‘Song’, and outrageous virtuosity from the brass in the ‘Battle with Napoleon’ and ‘Emperor’s Court’ movements. This is Háry János as a high-class musical riot. (ELQ 480 4873)
And one to avoid…
On the one hand,
Antal Doráti’s incisive conducting and the verve of the Minneapolis SO give much pleasure on this 1959 recording. On the other, the recorded sound may mean you want to approach it with caution. Mercury’s ‘Living Presence’ process was clear and vivid for its time, but while the range of detail still impresses, the overall perspective has a clinical, basslight quality that calls for adjustment.