In his Musica pentatonica, Farkas experimented with dodecaphony and a five-note pentatonic system, using only five notes instead of the traditional twelve chromatic notes in each section.
Composition History
The András Jelky Suite was commissioned for the chamber orchestra of Baja, Hungary, and illustrates the incredible adventures of local figure András Jelky (1738-83), a journeyman tailor-cum-diplomat.
Composition History
Farkas composed Musica pentatonica for string orchestra between 1943 and 1945, finishing it in Budapest while the city was under Soviet siege.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Farkas aimed to make his music widely accessible and to breathe new life into old national music by casting rudimentary Baroque and Classical Hungarian music in a new mould.
Composer Biography
Ferenc Farkas (1905-2000) was a Hungarian composer who, as a young man, worked as a répétiteur, conducted orchestras and choirs, and composed for theatre and film.
Performer Biography
The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1963, has an exceptional international reputation, performing in over fifty countries and making more than 200 recordings.
Composition History
Farkas's time in Rome (1929-1931) was influential, inspiring him to arrange older music, following the example of his teacher Ottorino Respighi, an Italian composer.
