Customer Reviews

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra; etc.

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I suppose I could well have waited a few more days, until the turn of the New Year, to be able to say "Now, 50 years later, Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra as it must have sounded to the engineers in the studio." After all, this "classic of all classics" does date from 1955. (The other two works on the album have recording dates from 1958, and I sure don't plan to wait *that* long for a silver anniversary!) Actually, I have been listening to this hybrid SACD release for at least a few weeks now, but it was only this past weekend that I had my first opportunity to listen directly to the SACD layer; previous hearings were of the "redbook" CD layer only.

So, I'm jumping the gun as regards the 50 year celebration, but for good reason. The newly-mastered DSD sound from the analog master tapes, as heard in the SACD layer, are enough of an improvement over the redbook CD sound to justify my impatience. And the redbook CD layer is already excellent as it is!

At this late date, there is little left to be said about how significant these performances are. By now, anyone interested in these Bartók works probably already knows that Fritz Reiner had two things in his favor in these performances that make them as authoritative as they are: His close personal friendship with the composer, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in one of its most glorious periods, almost without equal (thanks of course to Reiner). Not always apparent (particularly in some of the many earlier releases of this work in less than excellent sound in years past) was the contribution of the RCA engineers in those very early days of stereo. But it all comes together, in sound better than ever thought possible, thanks to DSD (Direct Stream Digital) processing of the original analog master tapes and SACD technology for converting the sound back to analog, giving us the nearest thing to "perfect analog"; the closest possible replica of the original tapes.

The Concerto for Orchestra is, by far, Bartók's best-known and most popular work, immediately accessible in a way that many of his other mature works are not. (His very earliest works, such as "Kossuth" and the "Orchestral Suite No. 1," written largely in the style of Richard Strauss before he began his studies of Hungarian and Rumanian folk music, are also immediately accessible, if hardly of the quality of his mature works.) Reiner, being as close to Bartók as he was, knew this work "inside and out" and committed a performance for the ages in this session. He of course was also aware of the reason why Bartók chose to parodize the "invasion" theme from Shostakovich's 7th Symphony in the fourth movement of the Concerto, and plays this loopy parody, complete with its growling trombone raspberries, for all it is worth. But the work is of course much more than this oft-mentioned parody, and Reiner's interpretation is as good as any, and now - with DSD/SACD technology - fully competitive to versions recorded decades later.

If the Concerto for Orchestra is Bartók's most popular and accessible work, then Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste ("MfSPC") is probably his greatest masterpiece in respect to incorporating his studies and usage of Magyar folk music into "serious" works. Here, Reiner and his Chicagoans are, if anything, even better than in the Concerto. Their execution of the work has a hair-raising "snap" that many other performances fail to achieve, and the sound - three years newer (1958) than the session at which the Concerto had been recorded - is even better.

The final work on the album is his Hungarian Sketches, again exhibiting the results of his musicological studies as incorporated into a unique personal style. It - like the MfSPC - was recorded in 1958 sessions, but, like that work, sounds as if it had been recorded just yesterday. For those coming upon this work for the first time, don't expect to hear ersatz "ethnic" music in the vein of Liszt and, say, Enescu. Not that assimilating the five movements is in any way difficult, but it is really only in the final movement ("Swineherd's Dance") where the music approximates what we generally tend to think of as "Hungarian folk music." But clearly tinged with the unique piquancy that was Bartók.

This is an album that always had been famous for its performances. Now, fifty years after the fact, thanks to DSD/SACD technology, it can also be appreciated for having the sound quality that had been there all the time on the original master tapes, but never quite realized with this level of perfection in its earlier reincarnations.

An essential album if ever there were one!

Bob Zeidler

Many years ago I knew someone who had often heard Fritz Reiner conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in concerts (a pleasure I am sorry to say I never experienced). Reiner's conducting style, he said, was at the opposite extreme from the histrionics of (for instance) Leonard Bernstein. On the podium, Reiner exhibited no baton waving, choreographic body language, or ecstatic or pained facial expressions. In fact, said my acquaintance, if you were seated directly behind Reiner you might not see him move at all for long stretches! Such was his rapport with the orchestra that no show-biz gestures were necessary, not to mention foreign to his temperament.

The performances he led of the two major works on this disc suggest what he was able to achieve when he conducted music that suited him. (His recordings of Richard Strauss are in the same category.) Reiner surely had an affinity with Bartok (partly, perhaps, because Reiner too was originally Hungarian).

There are recordings that make you think, "What a superb orchestra!" There are others that elicit accolades for the interpretation or the sound quality. And then there are a very few -- the best -- that make you forget about things like those while you're listening, and if you have any thought it's simply, "What great music this is."

Reiner's Bartok falls into that rarefied category, and I can think of no higher praise.

The Concerto is probably the most popular and most frequently performed 20th century piece of orchestral music. Like anything that is played and recorded often, it can seem to be too much of a good thing. To Reiner and his Chicagoans of the 1950s, it was relatively new music, and the fact that it had not yet become standard repertory may have been one reason they were able to project it so vividly: there was no routine to fall into.

It would be absurd to say that listening to this recording was like hearing the Concerto and the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta for the first time. Nevertheless, I was more conscious than ever of the strangeness mixed with the beauty, the exoticism coupled with the power.

Technically, the recording is not one marvel but two. First was the original recording team from RCA, who must have been geniuses. Not only did they record these performances in two channels (the Concerto) and three channels (the Music for Strings etc.) before there was any commercially established way of reproducing multiple channels in playback, but they also must have used what was then state-of-the-art mikes and tape recorders.

The second marvel is the SACD remastering, which was clearly done by sound engineers who knew their business and who used only the original channels, not adding synthetic rear channels. The result is that 50 years drop away, and you are there and then. Or, thanks to the realization of Bartok's scores that you are hearing, in some wondrous dreamscape beyond place and time.

What great music this is.

I loved the previous issue of this recording, but this one is even clearer, which is some praise, since the previous issue was a brilliant pressing of a brilliant recording. I never tire of Reiner's performance.

There is no other recording of these pieces that approaches this one - absolutely none (not even Leinsdorf's version). Not only is this Reiner disc the best Bartok recording ever made, but it is one of the best classical recordings ever made... truly a desert island disc.

Only a cretin wouldn't buy this record. ;)

What a great step up from the previous release.
There some details that have come out in this recording that I really enjoy.
In many ways, a truly revalatory recording.
A lover of Bartok should not be without it.

I offer you a simple test: sample the 2 minutes which open the last movement. As you do, try not to get carried away, but listen intently. Then you will discover why Bartok wrote this for the Boston Symphony, not the Tonhalleorchester. And of course the Chicago orchestra would not wish to be seen lacking in sheer virtuosity. But the number of orchestras who scramble through this section, even on record, is astonishing!
Quite apart from all that, Reiner pretty much had the field to himself as a Bartokian. Although a generation ago there were a dozen conductors from the Budapest Academy around, where Bartok and Kodaly taught (Ormandy Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Dorati Bartók: Concerto for orchestra; Dance Suite, Fricsay Bartok: The Piano Concertos / Anda, Fricsay, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Kertesz Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle / Kertész, Ludwig, Berry, Solti etc.), just being an Hungarian doesn't automatically make your imagination's blood flow "hungarianly". But Reiner's did; and he recorded a fair swag of the master's output. This recording of the Concerto for Orchestra and the Music for Strings etc. has been called "definitive" (whatever that means!). Let me put it more acceptably as "has never been bettered". And now the most astonishing aspect is the sound itself. It is true that it hasn't got the luminosity of modern recordings, yet there is a splendid hall-like ambience and all the detail comes through without monkey tricks by the engineers.
It is not true, as some over-enthusiastic fans wish to believe that it sounds as good or better than Solti's recording with the same orchestra Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Dance Suite; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste. In fact it could be an illusion based on the slight hardness of the string sound that this recording is preferable to Solti's. It sounds "authentic" in that very hard-to-define way which is more a matter of feeling than hearing. That last movement; but also the first and parts of the others, have a kind of raw kinetic energy driving them which the sound reflects ideally. Solti by comparison is almost too smooth. And I think these to are the only real contenders in this rich field, towering above all others. If you want it "civilised", try Karajan Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings or Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring. Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, but despite their virtuosity, the Berliners keep to their "good table manners".
Final word: choose your weapons. Brilliant, almost effortless execution -- Solti. Brilliant, but with blood and thunder and a good deal of earthiness -- take Reiner. Best would be to have them both (Ormandy is smooth like Karajan, very strange. Dorati is rough like Reiner, but not as effective. Still, they're all good buys).

While apparently there is at least one person on the planet who can listen to these amazing recordings and not be moved, the bulk of reviews here reflect what a profound treasure these sessions are. These recordings (along with the Fine Arts Quartet recordings of the Quartets) were my *virgin* exposure to Bartok. This was over 30 years ago in their vinyl incarnation, and on equipment that was far from *HiFi*. Yet it was life-changing music. Those vinyl copies were lost, and I spent years trying to recapture the magic of these pieces through various other recordings well into the CD age. Now the SACD format has given us a virtual sonic time machine, and the ability to hear these landmark recordings in all their original splendor. I did have the pleasure of hearing the Concerto For Orchestra performed live by the BSO, conducted by Seiji Ozawa, sometime in the early 80's (BSO centennial), but the Reiner rendition remains my most cherished.

I'm not sure where to put my review. Although I purchased the SACD version of this album, I don't have an SACD player, so what I'm listening to is the CD version. So I put a review on the CD version, but will add a few notes here.

I've listened to classical music for some time, though I was largely unfamiliar with Bartok's work when I bought this disc. In fact, I mostly listened to pre-20th century classical music, and had mixed feelings about the limited amount of 20th century music I did know well. This disc was both an introduction to Bartok and an attempt to get to know modern classical music better.

In all candidness, I was prepared to be disappointed, but definitely am not. While Bartok certainly broke with the preceding Romantic tradition, this disc is a collection of enjoyable music. I really enjoy the Concert for Orchestra, and listen to it frequently. If you absolutely, positively must have the melody of a Tchaikovsky, you might not like it, but it's a good piece of music with some beautiful segments. I have to admit that the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta doesn't do much for me (though other reviewers seem to like it), but the Hungarian Sketches are great--colorful and featuring some neat rhythms and harmony. All in all, this is a very worthwhile collection of music.

The sound quality--again, I'm listening to the CD layer of the SACD Hybrid--is good. In fact, the positive reviews here and for other SACDs have me considering buying some new stereo equipment though.

All in all, this is a good purchase if you are thinking about trying out 20th century classical composers, generally, or Bartok, specifically. I don't think one need be a fan of dissonance or an ardent admirer of Bartok and his contemporaries to enjoy this disc. And if you don't have an SACD player, but think you might get one in the future, this disc is worth the purchase now, as the CD layer is more than satisfactory.

All the praises that have been piled on this classic performance are true. The CSO was on fire!
But.... while most of the LS SACDs are great transfers and worth the upgrade from standard redbook Cds, this one is still a wee bit harsh (digital).

Bela Bartok is a very hard composer to record successfully I imagine. There are so many facets to his imagination that if a conductor can't interpret them to his orchestra, then it's easy for the performances to get "lost in translation" so to speak.

Fritz Reiner, who was one of the greatest classical conductors of all time, and his Chicago Symphony turned in one of the best performances of this very complex piece of music I've ever heard. The performance is passionate, technically superb, and emotionally well balanced. This is an absolutely essential recording for all classical fans regardless if you like Bartok's music or not. This recording made me a Bartok fan, because the performances were so convincing.

If you're already into Bartok's music, then I'm sure you own this. New listeners to Bartok also pick up Pierre Boulez's readings of Cantata Profana and The Wooden Prince on Deutsche Grammophon. This is also essential listening for Bartok fans.

Special note: I have not heard the SACD layer of this recording, but I own this version and the standard CD version released a few years ago. I have to say that the audio on the CD layer of this newer hybrid SACD sounds greatly improved. Much better than the original CD.

I just could not comprehend why many music lovers love Bartok--
his music might be intellectual, but to me it's boring!