Romania Symbol

The works on this album were written between 1935 and 2019 by four Hungarian composers: Béla Bartók, who was the teacher of Sándor Veress, who taught György Ligeti, who in turn was an early but formative influence on Péter Eötvös. Their compositions all share the idea of a dialogue between cultured and popular elements, between a Western music tradition and folk music, particularly of Eastern Europe. This idea was formulated in the early 20th century by Bartók himself, who considered the use of folk elements in a piece of art music not only as a tool to revitalize the Classical tradition but also as a mean to unite different cultures.

The Caprice roumain, completed by Cornel Tåranu, is probably his least-known masterpiece, a work unique in the history of the violin concerto. On this disc, it is flanked by Ravel’s Tzigane and Chausson’s Poème, providing a rounded portrait of the close cultural relationship between France and Romania.