Here’s a welcome reissue from Marco Polo, now on the less expensive Naxos line. László Lajtha (1892-1963) was the major 20th century Hungarian symphonist. He had the good fortune to be picked up by an important publisher early on (Leduc), but suffered from being largely out of favor with the Communist regime for most of his career. He wrote major works in all the traditional forms, in a style recognizably personal and immediately appealing, but without pandering. Aesthetically (as Leduc recognized) his voice was audibly French in orientation, and if I had to categorize him I might say that he was a sort of Hungarian Martinu. The melos of Hungarian folk music underlies much of his thematic substance, but the translucent textures and colorful orchestration have an impressionistic tinge.

All of this is quite evident in the First Symphony, a pithy work in three movements that consistently captivates the ear. In memoriam is a big, powerful funeral march that takes a few minutes to get going, but once it does, proceeds memorably. Its central climaxes are aptly harrowing. The early Suite for Orchestra has four movements, including a parodistic Marche burlesque and an equally ironic Can-Can conclusion. Its Valse lente third movement is lovely, as are these performances. The Pécs Symphony Orchestral plays well for conductor Nicolás Parquet, and they are also naturally recorded in a warm, open acoustic. If you missed this series the first time around, grab these reissues as they come.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)