Favorite Bartok Concerto for Orchestra

[Ronit]

I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living
Stereo" recording is suprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D
Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?

[Ronit]

Bah. I mean Boulez/CSO (1992) and Reiner/CSO (1955). Sorry about the
typos.

[Vaneyes]

ACO/Dorati.

Regards

[Raymond Hall]

"Ronit" <ron...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140133108.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Reiner is excellent, but for slightly better sound, on an Eloquence CD there
is a very fine CfO by Dorati/RCO coupled with a superlative MSPC by Ivan
Fischer/Budapest Festival Orch. A fresh and invigorating perspective.

Szell is very good also, but for a cut in the Finale (maybe it won't matter
much, but the Prok 5 coupling is, imo, mainly a dud), and on a Duo, Haitink
is very good (again with the RCO), coupled with the Bartok piano concertos
by Kovacevich/Davis.

Ray H
Taree

[alanwa...@aol.com]

Favourite performance of Bartok Concerto for Orchestra? The last/next
one:):) Great piece to play.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

[Ronit]

I meant 'recording', and I completely agree. :)

[OhBoy]

"Vaneyes" <van...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:1140133656.7...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> ACO/Dorati.
>
> Regards

RCO. Jeez.

[Ronit]

The only Dorati recording I can find on arkivmusic.com is with the
London Symphony Orchestra. What's the RCO/ACO?

[Vaneyes]

Ronit wrote:
> The only Dorati recording I can find on arkivmusic.com is with the
> London Symphony Orchestra. What's the RCO/ACO?

http://eloquenceclassics.ca/trackinfo01.php?ref=faa8e3ab087f6af0241ee6999fde7c4a4208

Regards

[Ronit]

A ha! Thanks.

[Sacqueboutier]

Several excellent choices:

Kubelik/Boston on DGG
Arpad Joo/Budapest SO on Sefel (long OOP)
Boulez/NYP on Sony is more engaging than his CSO version.

I also like the Haitink quite a bit.
--
Best wishes,

Sacqueboutier

[Terry Simmons]

In article <1140137371.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
"Ronit" <ron...@gmail.com> wrote:

> The only Dorati recording I can find on arkivmusic.com is with the
> London Symphony Orchestra. What's the RCO/ACO?

Dorati has recorded this work many times. I used to like the one he did with the
Minneapolis Orchestra (on Mercury).

RCO/ACO refers to the orchestra that has, since 1988 (its centenary year),
called itself the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Prior to 1988 it was called the
Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. Dorati recorded the Bartok Concerto for
Orchestra with them in 1983. If you bought the CD on its first release, the
orchestra would have carried its earlier title. Re-releases, depending on date,
would have carried the present title. Both correspondents, therefore, are
potentially correct. Except that, strictly speaking, the initials for the
orchestra's earlier name should be COA, not ACO!

Dorati's Amsterdam performance is much more gentle than most others, with the
humour underlined. The one he recorded in London is more vigorous.

Janssons, Haitink and Ansermet (especially Ansermet!) have excellent recordings.
These days I lean towards a more native Hungarian style, so prefer Adam Fischer,
with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra on Nimbus

--
Cheers!

Terry

[Frank Berger]

"Ronit" <ron...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140133108.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Kocsis.

[Paul Goldstein]

In article <1140133108.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, Ronit
says...

Bernstein and Ancerl, in addition to the Reiner.

[Handel8]

I like the old Skrowaczewski from Candide/Vox with the Minnesota
Orchestra. It is still in print, kinda, here:
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=725&name_role1=1&name_id2=11291&name_role2=3&bcorder=31&comp_id=12544

Avoid the later one on Oehms. It is pretty flat and does not sound as
good either. (This may not bode well for the Beethoven cycle he is
starting on the same label.)
The early one has some nice touches that are very well thought out IMO.
I also like the old Leinsdorf/BSO on RCA if you can find it.

Alan Prichard

[Dan Fowler]

I haven't heard the Ancerl recording, but I bet it's great.

The three versions I listen to the most are Fricsay/BRSO,
Dorati/LSO(? --it's in the boxed set of Bartok works), and Ivan
Fischer/Budapest Festival Orchestra. The Fischer offers the best recorded
sound, but Fricsay and Dorati offer some different insights into the music.

I also own versions conducted by Karajan and Boulez that I don't listen to
very often. Reiner is on my wish list.

Dan
"Paul Goldstein" <Paul_...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:dt3dl...@drn.newsguy.com...

[Bob Harper]

Seconded. Your new ears must have arrived.

Bob Harper

[Alex Panda]

"Ronit" <ron...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140133108.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Kocsis.

[Frank Berger]

"Bob Harper" <bob.h...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:LYGdna9Z3P3p_2je...@comcast.com...

One of my ears is perfectly fine.

[Frank Berger]

"Alex Panda" <alex138...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:oueJf.11449$Q22....@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

Kocsis?

[Dave Cook]

On 2006-02-17, Handel8 <ala...@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
> I like the old Skrowaczewski from Candide/Vox with the Minnesota

BRO still has it:

http://alnk.org/swellmongoose

Dave Cook

[Michael Schaffer]

I have this, and I like it. Very good playing and direction, nice
sound, good detail attention, a lot of color and drive, one of the best
versions I know. But I wasn't as overwhelmed by it as some other
listeners for whom it appears to be the best version ever (I remember a
discussion about this recording a few months ago). There are several
others that I like equally, I.Fischer/BFO, Ancerl/CPO, Fricsay/RIAS,
Dohnanyi/CO, and, yes, Boulez/CSO and, yes, Dutoit/OSM are favorite
recordings of this work

[MrT]

Kubelik is sensational in this piece. Other favorites: Fricsay, Reiner,
Dorati, and an unidentified (by me) concert performance broadcast by
Radio Bartok last year. Most performances I've heard of this piece are
at least good, so there are a lot of reasonable choices. If you get the
rhythms right, you get the piece right. Since by now there's a huge
tradition of it, most conductors get the rhythms right.

Best,

MrT

[Gerard]

Terry Simmons wrote:

>
> RCO/ACO refers to the orchestra that has, since 1988 (its centenary
> year), called itself the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Prior to 1988
> it was called the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. Dorati recorded
> the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra with them in 1983. If you bought
> the CD on its first release, the orchestra would have carried its
> earlier title. Re-releases, depending on date, would have carried the
> present title. Both correspondents, therefore, are potentially
> correct. Except that, strictly speaking, the initials for the
> orchestra's earlier name should be COA, not ACO!

Not exactly. The name of the orchestra was Concertgebouw Orkest. CO.

>
> Dorati's Amsterdam performance is much more gentle than most others,
> with the humour underlined. The one he recorded in London is more
> vigorous.
>
> Janssons, Haitink and Ansermet (especially Ansermet!) have excellent
> recordings. These days I lean towards a more native Hungarian style,
> so prefer Adam Fischer, with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra
> on Nimbus

Which recording has been issued on Brilliant Classics in a box set (Bartok:
orchestral works).

[Alex]

"Frank Berger" <frank.d...@dal.frb.org> wrote in message
news:11vatsb...@news.supernews.com...

Yep, on Hungaroton. A great hybrid SACD which has received universal praise
AFAICT.

[Bob Harper]

Frank, somehow I thought the Kocsis recommendation was from DK. It was
to *his* need for new ears that I was referring. Sorry for the mix-up.
Your ear (in several senses) has always seemed fine to me.

Bob Harper

[Frank Berger]

"Alex" <alex138...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:yVadnQswprK...@karoo.co.uk...

I know. I also posted the one-word "Kocsis" reply to the question and
thought it would be funny to answer yours with "Kocsis?"
Now I'm not sure why I thought it was funny. Never mind.

[Paul Ilechko]

Handel8 wrote:
> I like the old Skrowaczewski from Candide/Vox with the Minnesota
> Orchestra.

Me too. Also Ormandy/Philadelphia

[OhBoy]

"Gerard" <ghend...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:43f5d062$0$47146$dbd4...@news.wanadoo.nl...

> Terry Simmons wrote:
>
>>
>> RCO/ACO refers to the orchestra that has, since 1988 (its centenary
>> year), called itself the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Prior to 1988
>> it was called the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. Dorati recorded
>> the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra with them in 1983. If you bought
>> the CD on its first release, the orchestra would have carried its
>> earlier title. Re-releases, depending on date, would have carried the
>> present title. Both correspondents, therefore, are potentially
>> correct. Except that, strictly speaking, the initials for the
>> orchestra's earlier name should be COA, not ACO!
>
> Not exactly. The name of the orchestra was Concertgebouw Orkest. CO.

Correct. Adding the city name is something that seems to happen elsewhere.
In the Netherlands the Ajax soccer club is just 'Ajax'. Across the border
people and newspapers talk abouit 'Ajax Amsterdam'.

[Michael Schaffer]

If we want to split hairs, isn't it "Concertgebouworkest" rather than
"Concertgebouw Orkest"?

[OhBoy]

"Michael Schaffer" <ms1...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140205906.6...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

True. So from now on we will be using 'C'.

[Raymond Hall]

"OhBoy" <oh...@canada.com> wrote in message
news:70rJf.3624$jh5.2984@edtnps84...

No. We always use RCO, ACO or Concertgebouw. Commonly understood by everyone
here for eons.

Ray H
Taree

[Philip Peters]

Indeed. These days the Concertgebouw Orchestra is RCO becuase for some
reason they have become *Royal* at some point.

Philip
>
>
>

[Philip Peters]

Michael Schaffer wrote:

It is *Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest*.

P.
>

[OhBoy]

"Raymond Hall" <rayt...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:iarJf.10444$yK1....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

I was kidding ...

[JR]

Me too. I love the Dance Suite in that set also. Has anyone heard his
Saarbrucken Concerto for Orchestra?

[Todd Schurk]

Kubelik is great in this work & his live version on Orfeo with a fine
Mfspc is hard to beat. Also Kocsis on Hungaroton and I still love the
energy of Reiner.

[stephe...@yahoo.com]

On Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 5:38:28 PM UTC-6, Ronit wrote:
> I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
> prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
> proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living

> Stereo" recording is surprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D

> Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?

As a teenager, I was eagerly buying whatever used and new classical LPs that I could afford. I had a used copy of the Karajan/Philharmonia Orchestra recording of the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra.

One day, I happened to be in a bookstore at Louisiana State University's student union. There were plenty of bargain LPs, but I spied a copy of the Pritchard/London Philharmonic recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra released on the now defunct Sine Qua Non label. It's been decades since I heard that recording, but I still have a certain nostalgia for it. https://www.discogs.com/Bart%C3%B3k-London-Philharmonic-Orchestra-John-Pritchard-Concerto-For-Orchestra/release/11710433

[Lawrence Kart]

Kubelik with the Royal Philharmonic

[Sol L. Siegel]

Lawrence Kart <ljk...@aol.com> wrote:


> Kubelik with the Royal Philharmonic

Kubelik with Boston SO. Pentatone has released it in quad on SACD.

- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

[Lawrence Chalmers]

On Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 3:38:28 PM UTC-8, Ronit wrote:
> I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
> prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
> proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living

> Stereo" recording is suprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D

> Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?

My imprint recording was Van Beinum and the Amsterdam. Then went on to Dorati and the Minneapolis and finally Reiner. Still the Reiner is my favorite. I'm fairly burnt out on the work but I'm tempted to try Kubelik and the Boston.

[Bob Harper]

The Reiner was my imprint, one of the first two Victrola LPs I ever
bought (the other was Alexander Gibson's Sibelius 5th). Still hard to beat.

Bob Harper

[fomalhaut]

By alphabetical order :
Dohnanyi (Decca), Schmidt-Isserstedt (EMI-NDR), Skrowaczewski (Candide) and Szell (Epic).

fomalhaut

[Raymond Hall]

Szell was my imprint, and a good version too. I read that Steinberg recorded the C.f.Orch with Boston. Has anyone heard it? Dohnanyi is very good too on an Eloquence, but for me Ivan Fischer on Philips, coupled with some Dances and Kossuth, beats everyone, including the well known Reiner/CSO. Great sound too. There is also a very good coupling on Eloquence of Ivan Fischer's MSP&C, and Dorati's Concerto for Orch. with the Concertgebouw. A superb coupling of Bartok's two masterpieces, not that the similar Reiner coupling is chopped liver exactly.

Ray Hall, Taree

[msw design]

I recall listening to the 2002 Skrow on Oehms with no expectations and being really surprised- it is a thorny, aggressive version that gets things right.

[Gerard]

Op donderdag 7 mei 2020 13:56:45 UTC+2 schreef Raymond Hall:

> Szell was my imprint, and a good version too. I read that Steinberg recorded the C.f.Orch with Boston. Has anyone heard it? Dohnanyi is very good too on an Eloquence, but for me Ivan Fischer on Philips, coupled with some Dances and Kossuth, beats everyone, including the well known Reiner/CSO. Great sound too. There is also a very good coupling on Eloquence of Ivan Fischer's MSP&C, and Dorati's Concerto for Orch. with the Concertgebouw. A superb coupling of Bartok's two masterpieces, not that the similar Reiner coupling is chopped liver exactly.
>
> Ray Hall, Taree

Szell's version is a good version but has some cuts. Reiner, Ivan Fischer and Kocsis have very good versions indeed. A very recent recording by Dausgaard also is a good version, with an unusual coupling: Suite No.1 by Bartok. It is not a piece I liked at first hearing, but I should listen to it again of course ;-)

[Kerrison]

> Szell's version is a good version but has some cuts. Reiner, Ivan Fischer and Kocsis have very good versions indeed. A very recent recording by Dausgaard also is a good version, with an unusual coupling: Suite No.1 by Bartok. It is not a piece I liked at first hearing, but I should listen to it again of course ;-)

Reiner / Chicago and Stokowski / Houston are sufficiently good enough for me.

[operafan]

On Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 8:20:44 AM UTC-4, Gerard wrote:
> Szell's version is a good version but has some cuts.

I agree, it's a good version. The only cut is at the very end of the last movement, which is unfortunate...

[ro...@verizon.net]

The cut was Bartok's doing but he later had second thoughts and restored it. I wonder why Szell alone chose to perform it with the cut.

[Rebuild Queens Hall London]

On Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 11:38:28 PM UTC, Ronit wrote:
> I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
> prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
> proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living
> Stereo" recording is suprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D
> Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?

Kubelik - RPO -HMV ASD 312

[Frank Berger]

On 5/7/2020 7:56 AM, Raymond Hall wrote:
> Szell was my imprint, and a good version too. I read that Steinberg recorded the C.f.Orch with Boston. Has anyone heard it? Dohnanyi is very good too on an Eloquence, but for me Ivan Fischer on Philips, coupled with some Dances and Kossuth, beats everyone, including the well known Reiner/CSO. Great sound too. There is also a very good coupling on Eloquence of Ivan Fischer's MSP&C, and Dorati's Concerto for Orch. with the Concertgebouw. A superb coupling of Bartok's two masterpieces, not that the similar Reiner coupling is chopped liver exactly.
>
> Ray Hall, Taree
>

I've never seen and couldn't find reference to a Steinberg CFO, with any
orchestra. CFO was premiered in 1943 in Boston with Koussevitzky, but
the first recording was in 1947 with Reiner in Pittsburgh. Not on CD AFAIK.

[Frank Berger]

Having just written this I noticed there is a 1944 recording of CFO with
Koussevitzky. That is a recording of a radio broadcast. Perhaps the
1946 Reiner/Pittsburgh recording was the first commercial recording.

[ctimb...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 9:05:13 PM UTC-5, Frank Berger wrote:
> "Ronit" <ron...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1140133108.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> >I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
> > prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
> > proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living
> > Stereo" recording is suprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D
> > Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?
> >
>

> Kocsis.

I like the live recording by Kertesz and the Berlin Phil (Salzburg, 11 August 1962), with Beethoven #8 and Strauss Four Last Songs with Schwarzkopf on Orfeo C881 132B.

[gggg...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 3:38:28 PM UTC-8, Ronit wrote:

> I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
> prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
> proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living
> Stereo" recording is suprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D
> Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?

http://classicalnotes.net/classics/bartok.html

[number_six]

Realizing it had been a long time since I had listened to this work, I pulled the EMI Kubelik Artist Profile off the shelf and listened to his recording with RPO.

It seemed a rip roaring account of this Concerto. Not sure if it is my favorite but I was satisfied.

"We were happy, oh we were happy then,
In our pad with Bartok and with Zen..."

-- from Gari Gari, the Limeliters

[gggg gggg]

On Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 1:38:28 PM UTC-10, Ronit wrote:
> I have the Boulez/CSO (1955) and Reiner/CSO recordings. I generally
> prefer the Reiner for greater emotional impact; Boulez is technically
> proficient but leaves me cold. Also, the sound of the 1955 "Living
> Stereo" recording is suprisingly more engaging than the 1992 "4D
> Digital" recording. What are some other great takes on this work?

(Recent Y. upload):

Dave's Faves: My Personal Favorite Recordings No. 31 (Bartók)