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| Iván Fischer conducts the Festival Orchestra |
Jolly, in the Palace of Arts for the orchestra's recording of Mahler's Fourth Symphony for Channel Classics, left the boss of the label and his producer in a stifling hot subterranean control room to listen and watch the orchestra in the concert hall above.
"The first thing that strikes you, hearing the Budapest Festival Orchestra at work, is the staggering levels of energy and enthusiasm that Iván Fischer not only relies on, but has come to expect from his musicians. This is no maestro-player hierarchy; instead it's a real interplay of passionate, committed musicians - these are people who make music together, play football and bridge together, eat together and all stay at the same hotel on tour," Jolly said.
After the recording session, the conductor and musicians flooded the control room and offered "not just a series of individual reactions to specific parts but a general appreciation of each other's contributions," Jolly said.
"It was a bit like being at sessions for a string quartet recording where everyone cares profoundly about everything that's done. And at the centre of this maelstrom of infectious concentration sat Fischer, listening intently and occasionally offering a kind of 'story board' to the music that was unfolding. 'Here's the scuttling of little animals', 'This is where the cellos wake everyone from their dreams' and 'This is an old man's dance, a bit stiff in the joints but' - said with a twinkle in his eye - 'an old man on Viagra!'"
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
