His solo piano works are quite interesting. A lot of them are miniatures, but they have that telltale rhythmic percussiveness that makes his piano music so distinctive. There was a bargain box of the whole shebang played by Kocsis that was available on the Decca label fairly cheap. Not sure if it’s still in print, however. His string quartets are a bit of a tougher go. The first quartet has a lot of Debussy influence. After that, a lot of it can be quite abrasive. I have a few sets, the Takacs set on Decca is my go to when I’m in the mood for it (which is rare.)
What are your favorite works from Bartok? Prior to getting the Decca Complete box of his I was only familiar with the piano concerti, violin concerti, concerto for orchestra, Hungarian Peasant Songs, and of course the truly marvelous string quartets. Those string quartets second only to Beethoven's. That box might just be my favorite composer oriented box. BTW I had the 35DP-4 mastering of your avatar cranked up on the stereo a few days ago
Ah, good old 35DP-4! I have a nice copy of that which I still love to spin. It has such a relaxed sound profile
As far as favorite Bartok goes (got a bit sidetracked by the Grail WYWH remark, haha). I have to think about that. You probably already know the orchestral stuff, a lot of the chamber/solo piano stuff will require more effort since I’ll need to sift through some cobwebs to remember the names of the works. You’ve hit most of the big guns already in your post.
I don't see the image in my previous post, so here's another version: This site doesn't seem to like images from Facebook.
The string quartets are among those life changing works that are in my personal perpetually seeking new interpretations for so if you have any favorites for those I'm all ears as well. My references are Tatrai, Hungarian and Vegh (stereo), and then several others that have interesting qualities but don't make the reference list. I don't have the box in front of me so I can't check if this was something only recorded for that box- a piece for 2 pianos- a work that stands out in my mind from his early years is Valtozatok, Variations on a Theme by FF. On the 35DP-4 I love the midrange presence (IMHO unparalleled in that regard, even UK first pressing vinyl can't compare). I had it cranked up nice and loud, but still way within safe listening levels.
Some discussion of Bartok so what the heck..... Second Piano Concerto (one of my favorites) with the amazing second movement. Highly influential.
So you already know (and love) the Concerto for Orchestra, the Piano Concertos, Violin Concertos, String Quartets. Presumably you have a number of versions, so I'll refrain from recommendations with an exception or two. In addition to these works, I enjoy: Divertimento for String Orchestra (I really like the Orpheus' take on DGG) Dance Suite (there's a Philips trio set of orchestral works by Fischer/Budapest F.O. with a nice version) Romanian Folk Dances for Orchestra (same Fischer set) The Wooden Price (again, same Fischer set) The Miraculous Mandarin (the very same Fischer set) Music for String, Perc & Celeste - too many notable versions to list. But Reiner/CSO is always a safe choice. I like Fischer/Kocsis/BFO on Philips. Cantata Profana for Chorus, soloists and orchestra - this is a very interesting, if short (<20min), choral work. There are a few good versions. Shaw with Atlanta, and Boulez/CSO on DGG. Deux Portraits (there's a good version of this by Dorati with the Concertgebouw on Philips but I believe it's OOP) Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion - this is a cool piece! I have a version by Argerich and Kovacevich that I really like. Sonata for solo Violin Contrasts (3) for Piano, Clarinet and Violin Solo Piano works: there's a lot here, but the highlights for me would be the Sonata, the Sonatina, Out of Doors, and Allegro barbaro. However there are so many interesting piano miniatures that it gets hard to list, but of these, For Children and Mikrokosmos both have a lot of interesting moments. And if one movement doesn't suit you, don't worry, it will be over in a minute or two! Kossuth is interesting, if a bit derivative. It's an early work. Has some R.Strauss influences. I enjoy it because it gives you a better sense of his musical evolution. The same goes for the Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, Op.1. You like the string quartets: have you heard the Takacs set on Decca? I like that a great deal. The quartets don't "speak" to me the way they do you, but when I do listen to them, Takacs is my go-to. The Hungarian quartet, which you mentioned, is also highly recommendable.
@bluemooze and @andolink are the only two other thread participants who are seriously into early music and I do have 500 - 600 recordings on this subgenre of classical music. My general lack of interests in 20th century composers (though not Sibelius since I have around a dozen versions of his Symphonies cycles) are more than made up by my interest in early music ...
That's fine, each to his own in regards to taste, I was merely stating that lumping Bartok in with the second Viennese school does him a great disservice when you just throw the "20th century" blanket over all of them. Bartok is as different from Berg is as different from Mahler is as different from Sibelius is as different from Shostakovich is as diferent from Stravinsky...well, you get the point. There was enough interesting music last century that it deserves a bit more differentiation, IMO.
I think that is an excellent performance (The Concerto) out of a lot of versions. I guess I have around 100 Bartok CDs.
This post prompted me to break out my only rendition of Suite No. 2, on this fine box from Dorati/LSO on MLP:
I think I have most of those performances on separate discs. The Wooden Prince is a classic from Dorati.
Your post made me spin the Concerto from this disc. Great Surround Sound. I never really thought too much why it is called a Concerto. I guess mostly from the second movement the way the instruments pair up in different harmonic intervals.
I'm "seriously into early music" as long as it's instrumental. (Sort of like your dislike of the guitar...)
Thank you very much! Lots in there that I am not very familiar with, but just heard once while going through the box. I will revisit these works. I have heard Takacs a while back and at that time it wasn't to my taste. I have yet to revisit them but I will, I have been sampling other modern groups play them so I want to leave some gap before listening to Takacs again, I will give them an attentive/active listening session. I think another thing that draws me to Bartok is I hear a similar transition like Beethoven as Bartok progresses from a romantic influenced period to more modern as Beethoven did with classical to romantic. Still, I don't think anything has quite the ear opening rapid shift that Beethoven did with the late quartets, including Grosse Fuge Now a first listen from this box set- the Op. 34 Preludes. Purchased this set based set based on the strength of his Op. 87 and a nice one stop way to have all of Shostakovich's piano music. This is the only other Stradivarius release I own, the other being Lucchesini's phenomenal, reference level Beethoven cycle. The Op. 87 from this box was licensed from another label.
I like to listen to Berg, Schoenberg & Webern occasionally. I agree with you on Bartok & have never found him difficult.
