István Szakadá

Istvan Kertesz (1929-1973) was born into a Hungarian-Jewish, and he grew up taking violin lessons at a time “when terrible things were happening in Europe.” By the time Istvan was twelve, he had been mastering the piano as well. But Hungarian Jews were persecuted relentlessly, and many of his extended family members were sent to Auschwitz to be murdered. After the war, he resumed his studies in what is now the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, taking composition lessons with Kodaly and Leo Weiner. An interest in conducting led to studies with Laszlo Samogyi and Janos Ferencsik.

This recording provides a prime example of why the late Istvan Kertesz has been one of those conductors whose interpretations of works by Brahms and Dvorak have consistently given me great pleasure. At various places in these serenades, he displays an extroverted, outdoorsy quality that allows melodies to soar. In addition, while listening recently to Sir Charles Mackerras' versions of these scores, where that conductor uses a down-sized orchestra, I found myself preferring Kertesz's suppleness and color, the latter enhanced obviously by the use of a somewhat larger orchestra.

This recording provides a prime example of why the late Istvan Kertesz has been one of those conductors whose interpretations of works by Brahms and Dvorak have consistently given me great pleasure. At various places in these serenades, he displays an extroverted, outdoorsy quality that allows melodies to soar. In addition, while listening recently to Sir Charles Mackerras' versions of these scores, where that conductor uses a down-sized orchestra, I found myself preferring Kertesz's suppleness and color, the latter enhanced obviously by the use of a somewhat larger orchestra.