performed by Andreas Bach, or below by someone (entire playlist for the work here) (cover image by Aaron Blanco Tejedor) Back to Bartók. And to folk music, sort of. Bartók’s collection of Ten Easy Pieces (or Tíz könnyű zongoradarab, in Hungarian) dates from … Continue reading Bartók: Ten Easy Pieces, Sz. 39
performed by Andreas Bach, or below by Jenő Jandó (cover image by Roman Mavrin) While Bartók’s music may not strike you as something that would challenge your perception or definition of ‘classical music,’ I think this little set of pieces might. … Continue reading Bartók: Hungarian Folksongs from Csík, Sz. 35a
performed by the Emerson String Quartet, or below by the Juilliard Quartet (cover image by Patrick Hendry) We’re going on a little journey. Come with me. Back to Bartók, and now in the second half of his output of six … Continue reading Bartók String Quartet no. 4, Sz. 91
featuring 黃心芸 (Hsin-Yun Huang), viola The dilemma! There were two concerts this evening, and I really wanted to go to both of them. If you’ve read any of my other concert reviews, you’ll be aware that we have two major … Continue reading NSO: Osmo Vänskä & Sibelius
performed by the Emerson Quartet, or below by the Takács Quartet Bartók’s third string quartet was written in Budapest in 1927, putting it just after the first piano concerto in his output. Remember, despite the low numbers, these are not … Continue reading Bartók String Quartet no. 3
performed by Jessye Norman, László Polgár and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, or below by Anne Sofie von Otter, John Tomlinson and the Berlin Philharmonic under Bernard Haitink (There’s also an English version with Gwynne Howell, Sally Burgess and … Continue reading Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle
I feel like we’ve been waiting for ages for this concert. And what a concert it was. Fazıl Say seems to be everywhere lately, literally and figuratively. He’s performing all over Europe, having recently played Beethoven’s Emperor concerto somewhere in Turkey, I … Continue reading TSO & Fazıl Say
performed by Karl Schlechta, clarinet; Susanne Kaldor, violin; Akos Hernadi, piano; or below, in what might be this release We jump ahead now to a much later work in Bartóks’ output, having given him our attention for an entire week, even if … Continue reading Bartók: Contrasts, Sz. 111
performed by Leif Ove Andsnes and the Berlin Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez, or below by the Géza Anda and the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink Since we discussed the first piano concerto earlier this week, I’d like to suggest you … Continue reading Bartók Piano Concerto no. 2, Sz. 95, BB 101
performed by Jean Efflam-Bavouzet and the London Philharmonic under Vladimir Jurowski “My first concerto […] I consider it a successful work, although its style is up to a point difficult, perhaps even very difficult for the orchestra and the public.” … Continue reading Bartók Piano Concerto no. 1, Sz. 83, BB 91
performed by the Emerson String Quartet, or below by the Takács Quartet Bartók’s second quartet was written between 1915 and 1917, in Rákoskeresztúr, Hungary (or Gerersdorf in German, for those of you who don’t like consonants as much). What you may or … Continue reading Bartók String Quartet no. 2, Sz. 76
Wow. A very interesting, very powerful evening this was, and one of the greatest moments the NSO has brought us in the years that I’ve been a patron, with wonderful programming. Brett Dean, Bartok, and Shostakovich. Please read. This was … Continue reading NSO’s Hero Reborn
featuring Freddy Kempf, conducted by 張尹芳 (Zhang Yin Fang) Midweek concerts are always a bit tougher to get around to, especially in rainy weather, and tonight’s turnout showed it. As a heavy-duty subscriber to the NSO, I get some perks, … Continue reading NSO’s Concerto for Orchestra
performed by Gil Shaham and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, or below by Viktoria Mullova and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Harding (maybe not a historical recording, but Mullova’s name is one I’ve recently learned and it’s … Continue reading Bartok Violin Concerto no. 2, BB 117
performed by David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter, from the recital in the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory in 1972 I’d like to say I planned it, but I didn’t. Both of Bartok’s violin sonatas, written within a year or so … Continue reading Bartok Violin Sonata no. 1, Sz.75/BB 84
performed by the Emerson String Quartet Beethoven left his mark on just about everything. If you want to talk about ‘cycles’ of piano sonatas, Beethoven has a killer one. Symphony cycle? One of the best. Piano concertos? Five of them. … Continue reading Bartok String Quartet No. 1 in A minor
This is the final concert of the first half of the TSO’s season, and so nice to see them once again in our National Concert Hall. Word on the street is that there’s going to be a new hall for … Continue reading Concert Review: TSO’s Legendary Hungary
This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by the Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi AND NOW for something completely different. I was thinking of listening to the Grieg piano concerto, which I will be hearing Ms. Valentina Lisitsa her … Continue reading Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 166
Fugue for Thought 