Casting an eye down the track list – Pál Hermann, Géza Frid, Zoltán Székely – you might be forgiven for saying, “Who dem?”
We shouldn’t be surprised these days to rediscover artists whose work fell victim to the political turmoil of the first half of the 20th century, but this Hungarian triumvirate is worth more than a passing glance.
A quick check of the catalogue suggests they have received only minimal attention in their homeland. Hermann’s name pops up on the pioneering British Toccata label, but other than that, relative silence.
The three first met as young Hungarian-Jewish musicians in 1920s Budapest while studying at the Franz Liszt Academy under Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók. Despite political tensions, economic instability and antisemitism at home, their international careers flourished. All three relocated to the Netherlands for a while, but the outbreak of the Second World War took a terrible toll. In 1944, Hermann was deported from France to Lithuania never to return. Frid, the most successful and prolific of the three, survived the war, remaining in the Netherlands until his death in 1989. Székely, who produced only a handful of works despite living until 2001, later emigrated, first to the United States and then to Canada.
Hermann and Székely both wrote String Trios, each dated 1921, at which time they were taking private lessons with Kodály since the Academy curriculum was too conservative to countenance such ‘modern’ fare. The Hermann, a single movement work, suggests the influence of Bartók, its opening conveying a wistful loneliness sometimes heard in the older composer’s work. It’s a gently probing piece, that opens up to a frisky central section before reaching a melancholy conclusion. Its harmonic roots are spiky, the writing for strings assured.
Székely’s trio, in four movements, is bold and striking, its harmonic language perhaps closer to Kodály. There’s a certain rhapsodic quality to the writing with folk rhythms and even a hint of jazz. The second movement, with a scampering violin line over pizzicato viola and cello is memorable and the lively finale, weighing in at 10 minutes, is the work of a composer of some note (he was just 18).
Frid’s three-movement String Trio, Op. 1 hails from 1926 when he was 22 years old. The writing is confident and full of memorable effects. Again, Bartók is in the air, but the composer’s voice is already the most individual of the three. The slow central movement is haunting, and the Allegro giocoso all’Ungherese finale is full of folk-infused Magyar fire and fun. His Duo for Violin and Cello from 1925 makes for an appealing addition.
The Hague String Trio, founded in 2006 by violinist Justyna Briefjes, violist Julia Dinerstein and cellist Miriam Kirby, performs this music as if it was Hungarian through and through. Intonation is impeccable, the three instruments are perfectly balanced and there’s a palpable sense of good-natured communion about the playing. These are young men’s works, so although the music is complex and thoroughly engaging, none of the composers take the listener into any especially dark places. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy here in works that would certainly go down well if programmed in recital.
Title: Echoes of Budapest
Works: Music by Pál Hermann, Géza Frid and Zoltán Székely
Performer: The Hague String Trio
Label: Cobra COBRA0096
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