Concerto for Orchestra
Bartók wrote this brilliant, atmospheric orchestral showcase for the legendary conductor Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Recommended recording:
Chicago SO/Fritz Reiner
BMG Living Stereo 82876613902
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/1nGtjcTDLObZqBxtib8vgW
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Bartók creates an extraordinary range of colours and atmospheric effects from an unusual collection of instruments, including a virtuosic solo piano part.
Recommended recording:
Hungarian National PO/Zoltán Kocsis Hungaroton
HSACD 32510
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/4rv8KBt3G7qjOnsCXoeN12
Piano Concerto No. 3
Listeners who fear Bartók’s music may be too astringent for their taste should try the nature portrait at the heart of this Concerto’s slow movement.
Recommended recording:
András Schiff; Budapest Festival Orchestra/Iván Fischer
Warner Maestro 2564696558
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/0HnTvuWAnJSOrpAixQcbYO
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
One of Bartók’s most powerful works, this psychological drama involves Bluebeard and his wife Judith, who insists on discovering all her husband’s dark secrets.
Recommended recording:
Elena Zhidkova, Willard White; LSO/Valery Gergiev
LSO Live LSO 0675
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/23YHlrLdUDW02JIqK294r7
Romanian Folk Dances
Bartók at his most light and accessible, revealing in the blend of central European with a touch of the Moorish.
Recommended recording:
Hungarian National PO/Zoltán Kocsis
Hungaroton HSACD 32506
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/3UtiY9NO1axlTGIA0hoDXK
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