Miklós Rózsa

(1907–1995)

Concert Music Discography

Compiled by Frank K. DeWald

With thanks to John Fitzpatrick, Alan Hamer, Mark Koldys, and Doug Raynes

1. What’s Included?

This discography aims to include every commercially released recording of Miklós Rózsa’s concert music, including opus numbers 1–44 (opus 45 remains unrecorded) and two works without numbers. Concert versions of film scores (including suites, the Spellbound Concerto, the Fantasy for Organ and Brass on Themes from Young Bess, etc.) are not included but will be found in Doug Raynes’s Film Music Discography. Where known, European and Asian releases have been included, but no claim of completeness is made in that regard. Only LP and CD issues have been listed, with the exception of one cassette release that featured an important performance and was not available in any other format.

2. What’s Available?

Recent developments in the recording industry have complicated the question of availability. The gradual disappearance of brick-and-mortar stores and the increased role of the Internet in sales (including downloads), not to mention such on-demand services as ArchiveCDs and ReDiscovery Music, have made it difficult (or at least foolhardy) to state with any certainty which recordings are and are not available. Sadly, very few of the early LP performances (including those conducted by Rózsa himself), have thus far appeared on CD, but anything is possible! Those interested in buying recordings of Rózsa’s concert music are advised to check such reliable online retailers as http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical, http://www.amazon.com and http://www.tower.com.

3. How To Use the Discography

The MS Excel spreadsheet contains two separate tables or “sheets” (identified by tabs at bottom left). The “Discs” table lists each LP or CD in more-or-less chronological order (except for a few late additions). Each disc has a unique number, which provides a cross-reference to the “Works” table. In addition to Label, Catalog Number, Contents (Rózsa works only), Format, and Issue Date (where known), this table gives Disc Title (if any), Producer(s) (if known), and miscellaneous Notes (including whether the disc is a reissue of an earlier recording).

The “Works” table lists Rózsa’s works by opus number, from 1 to 44. (Works without opus numbers are at the end; opus 45 remains unrecorded). Each recorded performance is listed with information regarding Performer(s), Recording Date (where known), Label, Catalog Number, Date of Issue, and Format. The unique disc number is also included, so that referring to the “Discs” table can tell you what else is included on that disc. Reissues of the same performance have been grouped and shaded together in a single block.

Note:

In addition to recording many of his own works, Rózsa recorded three LP albums for Capitol Records, conducting the Hollywood Bowl Symphony in music of other composers. These were:

· RHAPSODY UNDER THE STARS (SP8494) (with Leonard Pennario, pianist). Includes works of Rachmaninoff, Sinding, Charles Williams, Liszt, Mozart, Beethoven, and Rózsa’s own Spellbound Concerto.

· DANUBE WAVES (SP8540). Includes works by Josef Strauss, Smetana, Johann Strauss Jr., Ivanovici, and Liszt.

· STARLIGHT FANTASIE (SP8553). Includes works by Liszt, Enesco, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky.

Although no attempt has been made to trace all reissues of these albums, large portions of them can be found on the following EMI CDs:

· CONCERTOS UNDER THE STARS (CDM 7 63661 2)

· STARLIGHT FANTASIE (CDM 7 6366 2)

· AN EVENING WITH THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (CDZE 5 68860 2 5) (5-disc set released shortly after Rózsa’s death in 1995 and dedicated to his memory)

Concert Music Discs (PDF) Concert Music Works (PDF) Discography (Excel Format)

Last update: 8/31/2008