Symphony No.4 in D major "Spring" - László Lajtha

Описание: Pécs Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicolás Pasquet.

I - Allegro molto: 0:00
II - Allegretto: 10:59
III - Vivace: 17:12

Lajtha's Symphony No.4 was composed in 1950, being subtitled "Primtemps" (Spring in French). It was premiered in Budapest in October 15 of 1951, performed by the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer's student János Ferencsik. Soon it was performed in Paris, Frankfurt and Hamburg, becoming one of his most popular works.

Lajtha had spent a full year (1947-8) in London, after he was asked by the film director Georg Hoellering to compose music for his film on T. S. Eliot's verse drama "Murder in the Cathedral". Despite being offered more jobs in the city, he decided to return to Hungary. When he arrived, his passport was confiscated for having stayed too long in the West and he was removed from being director of Music for Hungarian Radio, director of the Museum of Ethnography and of the Budapest National Conservatory. Lajtha had to silently suffer this period of silenciation and condemnation.

Despite the success of the work, the Hungarian communist government fiercely critizied the work, following the Russian aesthetic dictates of "Socialist Realism". Composer Ferenc Szabó declared at the end of the First Hungarian Music Week in 1951 of Lajtha’s Symphony: "One of the chamber music programmes of the Music Week included the fresh and lively String Quartet No.7 with a Hungarian tone, which could be welcomed as a decisive turn in the oeuvre of Lajtha towards Hungarian folk music and realism, as a serious step towards the denunciation of West European cosmopolitanism and formalism. His Symphony No.4, however, seems to continue without scruples the undesirable form of composition in an extremely subjective spirit, which it was hoped had been completely banished from Lajtha’s valuable and significant creative art."

The first movement is structured in sonata form. It begins with a rhythmic main theme of Hungarian flavour, followed by a cheerful second theme on woodwinds. It's interesting to see the uplifting tone of the music despite the very dramatic circumstances of both the composer and Hungary at the time. Follows a short and lively development, followed by a varied recapitulation. A lyrical solo of the clarinet paints a bucolic scene, leading us to a peaceful passage with an extensive solo of the violin. A peaceful and glowing coda ends the movement.

The second movement is structured in ternary form. It opens with a pensive and melancholic main theme, presented by English horn and clarinet. It is then briefly developed. The middle section begins with more joyful and lyrical second theme, presented tenderly by the strings and culminating in a rich climax. The main theme is then recapitulated. A calm coda ends the movement.

The third movement is written as theme and variations. It begins with an energic and lively main theme of rustic character. Follows a series of fluid and continous variations on this material, alternating stong phrases with lyrical counter-motives. A joyful climax is reached in the middle, followed by new variations enhanced by brass and percussion. After a calm contrasting passage, a boisterous and brilliant coda ends the whole work.

Picture: "Walking in the Park" (1907) by the Hungarian painter János Vaszary.

Musical analysis mostly written by myself. Source: https://bit.ly/3w400Fx