The brilliant colors of the orchestra will be most striking to listeners throughout the work. “Autumn Pastorale” has a somewhat Asian quality with light scoring for harp and bells contrasting to darker wind colors and a florid flute line. It is an interesting mid-century work eschewing more atonal writing and emphasizing thematic material and intriguing dense harmonies. “Phantasy” is an interesting study in contrasts with angular melodic lines straight out of the darkest film noir era music. The…“Scherzo rustico” …is one of many examples of Zador’s superb handling of large orchestral writing in what is his very assured style.

One of Zador’s most popular pieces worldwide was A Children’s Symphony…The music is a strong piece of its time with an accessible musical language, a heart-melting melody in its second movement and plenty of humor throughout. The childlike innocence, a variation on a teasing childhood melody, is simply amazing to hear as it goes through a number of guises in the final movement, “The Farm.”

Mariusz Smolij and the Budapest Symphony…get to show off their ability to shift from more traditional to more atonal music quite naturally capturing the many moods in this music. The recording is very immediate and captures the performances in realistic sound. Easily recommended as one of the highlights of the year. © 2012 Cinemusical Read complete review

A Children’s Symphony…begins with a very classical style with the strings evoking a happy and uplifting mood well supported by woodwinds and brass. It leads to more peace and serenity with the clarinet offering a melody backed by a hint of the orient from the flutes and woodwinds. Another great example of an easy accessible movement is the march beat from a single snare drum with a solo trumpet leading the orchestra with a melody and response being given back by different orchestral combinations. Overall this is a very nice introduction to classical music for children.

[In the] Csardas Rhapsody…The clarinet begins with a slinky introduction offering a sharp contrast between it and the harp. The dance turns into a playful cheery situation…It ends with a wonderful gypsy dance…

Mariusz Smolij conducts the Budapest Symphony in a spirited performance. It sounds like their quite familiar with his material. Take a chance and you won’t be disappointed. © 2012 Film Music: The Neglected Art Read complete review