Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin / Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez

Béla Bartók (Composer), Pierre Boulez (Conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Composer: Béla Bartók
• Audio CD (April 9, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GR9
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,617 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Percussion

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Miraculous Mandarin, January 2, 2000

By 

j - See all my reviews

This review is from: Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin / Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez (Audio CD)

A live recording with Istvan Kertesz and the Chicago Symphony introduced me to The Miraculous Mandarin by Bela Bartok. Unfortunately, that recording was only the suite and not the whole ballet. I recently received this recording of the complete ballet with Pierre Boulez and the CSO as a gift. The two recordings are extremely different. Listening to the Boulez version, I get the impression that I am hearing the story second hand; It is like Boulez is telling me a fairy tale. Kertesz on the other hand gives me the feeling that I am living the story. I think that it is close to the most fantastic recording of anything that I have ever heard. I like listening to both versions very much. Which one I listen to depends on my mood.

In terms of sound and recordng quality, I have a minor problem with this recording. I do not find the recording incredibly clear. It sort of sounds like looking through a pair of glasses with some smudged greesy fingerprints on them. This is a minor point though and it does not take very much away from the performance.

If you are interested in the Kertesz recording, it is available on a 12 CD set from the CSO store.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF BARTOK'S MASTERPIECES., May 27, 2004

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin / Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez (Audio CD)

I think I'm kind of an idiot about classical music, so I can only make basic comments here. Music for Percussion, Strings, and Celesta is one of Bartok's greatest works, and as such is one of the greatest works in all of Western music. Despite the ostensible eminence the celesta is given in the title of the piece, the dominant keyboard instrument is piano, which is part of the percussion ensemble that serves as the anchor for two string sections. The piece is an amazing exploration of opposites, especially its use of chromatic and diatonic elements. The first movement is a chromatic fugue for strings, and Bartok's use of changing meters gives it a watery effect. From the first movement you can already tell it is one of Bartok's best compositions, simply because every note is so exceptionally placed and the flow is so natural. The second movement is an exhilarating allegro, a tight mesh of melodic themes manipulated with rhythmic and metric variation. The third movement is intensely chromatic "night music" with obscure tonality and fragmentary melodies. Best of all, the fourth movement, where diatonic considerations come to the fore and it is the most varied in rhythm, melody, and pitch, but still structurally sublime. Throughout the piece, the key subjects are changed into new subjects, which undergo their own changes, and eventually morphing back into previous themes. This is done with such uncanny perfection that the music really feels like it takes you places. I know that sounds cheesy. I won't discuss _The Miraculous Mandarin_, though it is very good as well.

Get this if you want to hear a divine performance of one of the musical universe's greatest treasures. (Sorry for the CAPS above, I know it's annoying.)

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Bartok, February 4, 2001

By 

John "[e-mail]" (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin / Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez (Audio CD)

On this disc are two of Bartok's greatest works. The first, The Miraculous Mandarin, is one of his most violent and suggestive. It is very vivid music, painting a palpably clear orchestral picture of the sex and violence of Lengyel's scenario. This is Bartok at his best; blaring brass, screaming strings, pounding percussion. There are also many moments of extreme delicacy; the clarinet solo of the young woman seducing male passers-by, or the moment when the Mandarin's body begins to glow, heightened by a low, wordless chorus. The vivid orchestral storytelling of Mandarin is offset by one of Bartok's most abstract pieces, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. This is another Bartok masterpiece. Pierre Boulez conducts Bartok's music very well, and this is no exception. Due to the great quality of the playing, conducting, recording and the music itself, and the fact that there are so few complete Mandarins on the market, I would suggest you pick this one up as soon as possible.