Emanuel Moór Symphony 2 in C (1895)

[Alan Howe]

Just discovered this on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVXN3NSoWIE   (1st mvt)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WHDNjAbSyQ   (2nd mvt)

[eschiss1]

Interesting. Thanks.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, thanks Alan. I haven't been too impressed by Moór's music thus far, so my expectations were low. However, both these movements are strong works with real merit. The first has a slightly Russian colour to it, which is surprising but not unattractive, and its material is appealing and deftly handled. The slow movement has real depth and, like the first, doesn't outstay its welcome despite its length. What a shame the other movements don't seem to be available.

[Alan Howe]

The recording is obviously Hungarian in origin - I believe Aramiarz said that his project (Sym 2/PC2) was helped by the existence of a Hungarian-sourced recording made available through the Henrik und Emanuel Moor Stiftung.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I have read this symphony through in score and am delighted at last to have been able to "hear" an actual performance of some of it. I think it is a strong work (as IMHO is the PC 2). I wish Aramiarz could give us some information on the projected recording of these two works. I am beginning to give up hope that it will ever be realised.

[Mark Thomas]

There's obviously an off-air dub of a radio broadcast of the full Symphony out there somewhere, though. I find googling is hampered by Hungarian, though. It's such a tricky language (with all due respect to any Magyars listening)..

[Mark Thomas]

I think the recording is of a performance on 31 October 2011 at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest: the Budapest Philharmonic Society Orchestra conducted by János Kovács. This is Moór's overtly Hungarian symphony (dedicated to the memory of the patriot Kossuth). At the concert, Bartok's  symphonic poem Kossuth was also played. Unfortunately I've not been able yet to track down the broadcast itself, or a recording of the complete work.

[Alan Howe]

Good sleuthing, Mark.

[Mark Thomas]

  My father was a policeman, y'know.

[Alan Howe]

This is the link I turned up to the concert in question:
https://www.jegy.hu/program/budapesti-filharmoniai-tarsasag-zenekara-30169

Translated, this is what it says about Moór's 2nd Symphony:

The third of the eight symphonies by contemporary Mahler-contemporary composer and inventor Emor Moore, he dedicated the third to Kossuth's memory. His performance is one of the most significant concert hall events in Hungary in recent years, a real symphonic discovery.

This is very fine music indeed. How frustrating that we can't hear the rest of the symphony.

[Alan Howe]

We need a translation of this document on Moór's symphonies:
http://zti.hu/mza/docs/Evfordulok_nyomaban/Evfordulok_WindhagerAkos_Moor-tanulmany.pdf

[eschiss1]

Interesting, Mr. Windhager's been busy (unless I misremember, he wrote a large doctoral dissertation on the music of Odon Mihalovich I think I mentioned some while back that's also available online.)
The link you provide seems worth linking to from the Moór category at IMSLP. Thanks for finding it.

[Alan Howe]

What I think is most obvious about Symphony No.2 is its memorability. This is really strong stuff: the first movement evinces a real sense of direction and thrust, there is plenty of variety of mood, the orchestration is consistently interesting and thematically it has a higher profile than the (admittedly few) other orchestral works of Moór's that we have heard. Overall, it sounds as though this is music that he really 'meant'. 

[Mark Thomas]

I completely agree. It's a very fine piece of work.

[Mark Thomas]

Many, many thanks to Ilja for making the other two movements available. The whole symphony is now downloadable from our Downloads Board here.