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After a three-decade-long career it is the first time the outstanding figure of today's Hungarian contemporary music has composed an electro-acoustic piece. László Sáry turned to the sounds of steam locomotives and their surroundings; he explores and exaggerates the human features of these lovely engine-monsters that remind us of living creatures.

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Dedicated to Sáry's father-who was a station manager-these two works are composed by someone who knows, loves, and has lived near trains. Locomotive Symphony is the title work and Studies on Steam Engines is its shorter precursor. Both are charming works of musique concrete that revel in the sounds of Hungarian steam locomotives. Sáry's use of the sources is mostly non-destructive (that is, the original train sounds are almost always recognizable): we hear pitch shifting of whistles and bells, chuffing engines and clanging rails. Sáry's works are build episodically: a type of sound will be explored for a few minutes, rhythmic patterns will be emphasized, or a contrast will be made between several different types of the same sound such as steam whistles which may gradually change in pitch or be combined. Sáry's work with trains begs compare with Pierre Schaeffer's Étude aux chemins de fer (1948 and 1971) so let me get that out of the way. (Étude is on Caipirinnha CAI.2027.2, mentioned by me back in La Folia 2:4, and both versions are on the 3CD Pierre Schaeffer L'Oeuvre Musical on INA GRM 292 572.) Schaeffer's work focuses upon the intrinsic noisiness of the trains and how their sounds can be transformed into something else, whereas Sáry respects the integrity of the trains, for the most part ordering and organizing pure sounds. Sáry's achievement is all the more impressive after listening to the 3rd track on the CD, a reissue of a Hungaroton LP of the sounds of Hungarian steam engines. You can hear nearly 45 minutes of Hungarian trains starting, passing, and braking along with some ambient noises, and realize that Sáry has a light touch with his material, extracting richness from the source as well as cleaning out background and environmental noise.

     —Grant Chu Covell , La Folia

The distinctive cover of this album also hints as to the unusual sounds inside. Notice there is no orchestra or conductor listed? Good reason. The l998 work which opens this CD is in ac

     —John Sunier , Audiophile Audition