The record compilations were made for Zsolt Madaråsz's "Lemeze16" programme broadcast on Bart6k Radio every Sunday at 4pm — not every week with Éva, of course — and only an edited version of each of them was included in the programme. I hope that we have managed to present Éva's wide-ranging work, which is less well known to the Hungarian audience. It took four to five months to put together a 'bunch of records'. Apart from a few studio recordings, the introduction of Éva's work was done exclusively through live recordings — various private, radio, television, or other recordings. One such exception is the first album, "Men I loved to or would have liked to sing with", where the compilation includes studio recordings. At first it started out as a normal "Lemeze16" interview show, but Zsolt soon championed my idea of creating such a series — reflecting on Éva Marton's career through live recordings — and the idea was supported by the management of Bart6k Radio as well. I am really grateful for them.
"Men..." (ICD), - "Allein..." / Richard Strauss and Éva Marton (2CD), "Mild und leise" / Wagner and Marton (4CD), - 'Santo di Patria" / Verdi and Marton (4CD), - "Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore" / Puccini and Marton (4CD), - "La mamma mortall / Verismo 1 and Éva Marton (3CD), - "Suicidio!" / Verismo 2 and Éva Marton (2CD), "Abscheulicher!" W. A. Mozart, L. v. Beethoven and Éva Marton (2CD), as well as "The Music of the Viennese Art Nouveau and Éva Marton" (4CD), "Éva Marton Tatiana, Semirama, Kostelnicka" (3CD) - "Éva Marton and Hungarian Composers." (ICD) As an interview guideline, I compiled the written material for the tracks, collected the recordings and then together with Zsuzsa Dvoråk, an excellent specialist at Hungaroton, we tried to arrange them so that they could be enjoyed to some extent, and finally my old professional designer friend Mik16s Juhåsz dressed them up properly. The accompanying text was written inHungarian and translated into English by Éva Gyöngy Måté from the Hungarian Liszt Academy. Of course, in the broadcast, Éva did not have to stick to my text, nor could she. So, it all became Zsolt's show, which is of course the property of Bart6k Radio. The underlying record collection is planned to be deposited in the libraries of the Hungarian Liszt Academy, the Hungarian State Opera, Bart6k Radio, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, the Institute of Theatre Arts, National Museum and Széchenyi Library after digitisation. The discs will not be sold commercially, they were made specifically for archival purposes. It took more than four years of work and I managed to finish the remaining parts not so long ago. By the way, complete opera recordings have also been made, including La Gioconda, Salome, Fidelio, Il Trovatore, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Die Frau Ohne Schatten from the MET, Die Frau Ohne Schatten from La Scala, Fedora from Carnegie Hall, Otello from Frankfurt conducted by Dohnanyi, and a Tosca from Buenos Aires and Houston. Later, as I have mentioned, all the recordings will be digitised. I have, of course, borne all the necessary financial expenses, I have had no sponsors, and I am grateful for the self-sacrificing help of my colleagues. I should mention here that, after my work became known, the EMMI provided financial support for my further work in 2019, for which I have to express my gratitude here. Following the departure of Éva Gyöngy Måté abroad, the translation was taken over by Gyöngyvér Bozsik, to whom I would like to express my special thanks for taking on this task alongside her other duties. The collection introducing the Music of the Viennese Art Nouveau and Éva Marton was completed by April 2020. This was followed by some other— by my wife — rarely sung or special operas, such as Anyegin, Semirama and Jenufa. And finally, a compilation of works by Hungarian composers, crowned by the Judiths of Béla Bart6k's Duke Bluebeard's Castle with excellent partners and conductors.
My wife's partners in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were some of the world's leading vocal artists, conductors, and directors. I owed this series of compilations to my wife to complete my work "in the service of the Empress". Incidentally, this will be the title of my new book if it is ever completed. I am working on it, but it is very difficult to get on with the book, because I want to capture everything as faithfully and realistically as possible.
To conclude, I would like to thank all my dear friends who helped me to create this series, especially Zsuzsa Dvoråk for the care and maintenance of the sound material, my friend Mik16s Juhész for the professional and artistic way he dressed the records, and Éva Gyöngy Måté and Gyöngyvér Bozsik for the excellent English translation. Here I would like to thank my friend Zsolt Madaråsz, who has inspired my work over the years through his programme "Lemeze16" and who has constantly given me new impulses through it, as well as Gyula Bånkövi and all the kind staff of Bart6k Radio who have participated in the programme. My thanks go to the management of Bart6k Radio for standing by us and to the Ministry of Human Capacities for the financial support. In any case, it was a beautiful and uplifting journey for me, and it was worth remembering the wonderful career of my wife Eva.
Budapest, 1 December 2021.
Dr. Zoltån G. Marton