Artist database

The Erdődy Chamber Orchestra was formed in 1994 by young musicians from the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Hungarian Radio Orchestra as well as Music Academy students. The orchestra primarily programmes ecclesiastical works, paying particular attention to 18th century works with a Hungarian connection which are mostly unpublished and largely forgotten. They have now acquired a unique repertoire. The ensemble is named after Count János Erdődy, who in the late 1700s maintained his own orchestra in Pozsony (now Bratislava) of a similar size and whose former mansion currently houses the Musicology Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in the Buda Castle District. The orchestra�s founder and artistic director is violinist Zsolt Szefcsik and its work is aided by the researches of the musicologist Zoltán Farkas. The ensemble�s first CD (1997) premiered two superb works the orchestra discovered by G. Druschetzky, a composer who lived in Buda. Their second CD (1999) was dedicated to unpublished works by Michael Haydn, found in manuscript form in the National Széchenyi Library. In 2000, the CD was given the distinguished �Choc� award by the French La Monde de la Musique publication. In that same year the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage asked the orchestra to participate in the Hungarian National Evening which opened jubilee year of International Church Music Concert in Rome. The orchestra is also keen to promote new compositions and commissions works from living Hungarian composers, such as György Orbán whose Stabat Mater they premiered. To mark the orchestra�s five year anniversary in 1999, they released a CD of concert recordings entitled �Hungarian musical rarities 1740-1840.� The CD contained a three language CD-ROM supplement which provided source information for the works and composers featuring on the disc. The Erdődy Chamber Orchestra�s fourth CD appeared in 2001 and featured the first ever recording of two major works by J. N. Hummel: in June 2001, this also won the Le Monde de la Musique �Choc� award. In September 2001, the orchestra gave a highly successful concert at the Ile de France Festival which was part of the French Hungarian Year series, and it was broadcast by French radio. In 2002, the ensemble won the Gramofon �Hungarian Classical Music Prize.� 2003 was a very productive year for the Erdődy Chamber Orchestra which saw them record four CDs of material: J. M Sperger�s horn concertos with Miklós Nagy, the Pleyel Violin Concerto with Vilmos Szabadi, György Orbán�s Stabat Mater as well as works by Polish and Hungarian composers published by the Warsaw DUX company.

Year	Title	Publisher	Code	Remark
2001	50 éves a Hungaroton - Karmesterek (1951-2001) (Fifty Years of Hungaroton - Conductors, 1951-2001)	Hungaroton	HCD 32074-77	4 CDs
2002	Pleyel, Ignace Joseph: Vonós versenyművek 1. - gordonkaversenyek (Pleyel, Ignace Joseph: Complete String Concertos, Vol.1 - Cello Concertos)	Hungaroton	HCD 32067-68	2 CDs
2003	Sperger, Johannes M.: Horn Music	Hungaroton	HCD 32145	First recording
2003	Pleyel, Ignace Joseph: Vonós versenyművek 2. (Pleyel, Ignace Joseph: Complete String Concertos, Vol 2.)	Hungaroton	HCD 32241	First recordings
2003	Az ezredvég kórusmuzsikája - "Hegyet hágék, lőtőt lépék" (Choral Music from the End of the Millennium - "Hegyet hágék, lőtőt lépék")	Hungaroton	HCD 32190
2005	Druschetzky, Georg: Zeneművek üstdobra és zenekarra (Druschetzky, Georg: Works for Timpani and Orchestra)	Hungaroton	HCD 32236	Own First recording