Bal 24.01.15 - Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930
Rob Cowan joins Andrew for a live edition of Building a Library comparing recordings of the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Béla Bartók. As the piece itself calls for a specific placing of instruments and antiphonal effects, comparing how each ensemble and conductor have chosen to approach recording it promises to be fascinating…

Available versions:-

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez (2 versions)
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, Adam Fischer
RIAS Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay (download)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Michael Gielen
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan (download)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (download)
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Zoltan Kocsis (runner up*)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik (download)
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine (download)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra , Neville Marriner (download)
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Yevgeny Mravinsky
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Naoto Otomo (download)
Saito Kinen Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
SWF Symphony Orchestra, Zoltan Peskó
Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexander Rahbari
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle (DVD)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Budapest, János Rolla (download)
Minnesota Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ignat Solzhenitsyn (download)
Leopold Stokowski
Camerata Academica Salzburg, Sándor Végh
Les Violons du Roy, Jean-Marie Zeitouni

*The "top" recommendation was not available

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It's "live".

[rauschwerk]

As the piece itself calls for a specific placing of instruments and antiphonal effects...

Therefore I'd start by eliminating all mono versions.

Oh dear, another go at the fireside chat. I think I'll stick with Chicago/Solti in this wonderful music. BPO/Karajan is in very dated sound.

[Black Swan]

It's "live".

I share your grimace. I love this work but don't think I am prepared to listen through the Andrew and Rob show to gain any insight into available recordings. I will wait for the final outcome to see where my current recording rates.

[Pulcinella]

I shall be intrigued to hear the chorus in the Boulez versions!
Shurely shome mishtake, EA!

Looking forward to this (apart from the live aspect!).
I first got to know the piece from the ASMF Marriner recording.
It was the NUJMB set work at A Level the year after I studied Brahms 2, and as I was still at school in the third-year sixth I got a score and studied it too (with the help of Annie O Warburton's analysis!).

:-)

[Barbirollians]

Reiner for me .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I shall be intrigued to hear the chorus in the Boulez versions!
Shurely shome mishtake, EA!

Looking forward to this (apart from the live aspect!).
I first got to know the piece from the ASMF Marriner recording.
It was the NUJMB set work at A Level the year after I studied Brahms 2, and as I was still at school in the third-year sixth I got a score and studied it too (with the help of Annie O Warburton's analysis!).

This is scary. Are you sure you aren't me? I did exactly the same! We used the Reiner recording, followed by the newly issued Boulez

[Pulcinella]

This is scary. Are you sure you aren't me? I did exactly the same! We used the Reiner recording, followed by the newly issued Boulez

Well, I was me when I looked in the mirror to shave this morning!



I think the Music Department (and school chums) had other recordings. I seem to remember one on the Heliodor label coupled with Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, my first introduction to that.

Are there really two Chicago Boulez versions? There's certainly a BBCSO Boulez version on Sony.

[Nick Armstrong]

It's "live".

[Petrushka]

The 1955 Chicago SO/Reiner recording has been the top choice in this piece since the day it was issued and it still sounds superb. It's a piece I've grown to like very much as the years have gone by and the Reiner was my first recording of it.

I'll put my money on Reiner again but if a more modern recording is required then Solti with a latter day Chicago SO will do nicely.

The Hungarians have it in my view!

[Madame Suggia]

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik

Love the other-wordly first movement in this performance.

[Pulcinella]

Memory playing tricks again!
Though I certainly remember having the ASMF/Marriner LP, the recording was made in October 1969, according to the CD release, so it cannot have been the version we used at school, as this was the set work for summer 1969.

[gurnemanz]

The very good Kubelik/Chicago from 1951 can be found as a CD on this box set. I discovered it on the cheap Membran 100CD Meister Konzerte box, which also still be found. I already have two probable front runners: Reiner and Marriner's chamber orchestra version with ASMF.

[Don Petter]

It's "live".

Jings! Discussion and fester ...

[Petrushka]

Karajan recorded the work three times: with the Philharmonia in 1949, and the BPO in 1960 and 1969. All of them are on CD albeit in boxed sets so not sure why availability on the list is restricted to downloads.

Can those who know the score say which percussion instruments are specified by Bartok? Which recording captures them best?