Folksong Suite No. 2 - Frigyes Hidas

Frigyes Hidas (1928-2007) was the most prolific Hungarian composer for wind ensembles, and his works are the most often performed. His extremely popular folk song suites are the finest examples of Hidas's mature style. Few composers are capable of tackling folk song arrangement in a worthy manner. Bartk himself had the following to say about the challenges with which this genre confronted the 20th-century composer: 'Knowing how to deal with folk melodies is one of the most difficult tasks. I venture to claim that it is as difficult as, if not more difficult than, writing a large-scale original work... This much is certain: for folk song arrangement the appropriateinspiration is just as essential as for the writing of any other kind of work.' The second suite with its recurrent structure makes use of five folk songs in a modern harmonic environment that highlights even more the beauty of the melodies.