Customer Reviews

Bartok: Viola Concertos

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The viola concerto, unfinished at Bartók's death, was completed by violist/composer/conductor Tibor Serly in the version familiar to listeners. Critics and musicologists have frequently criticized Serly's version, and Bartók's son supervised a new completion of the concerto, published in 1995. The casual listener will hear little difference in the 2 versions performed together here by Hong-Mei Xiao, though aficionados will enjoy the chance to compare them (Bartók's final version surely would have been better than either). Her tone is bright and violin-like, lacking some of the mellow darkness of Lars Anders Tomter's performance of the Walton "Viola Concerto" on Naxos 8.553402. She performs with virtuosity, and the Hungarian orchestra is steeped in Bartók's idiom. His "Two Pictures" are early works, showing promise, but not up to the standards of his mature orchestral masterpieces. Serly's own "Rhapsody," composed while he was revising the concerto, is a harmless virtuoso showpiece, reminiscent of Georges Enescu. As always, Naxos provides a full disc of well-recorded, polished performances by lesser-known musicians at an bargain price.

I am really not concerned about the controversy surrounding the Bartok viola concerto. It is simply a splendid work, with many passages marked undeniably with Bartok's stamp. (Don't listen to the editorial reviewer; it's a great piece!) It is wonderful to have both the Serly and the Peter Bartok/Paul Neubauer versions together for comparison. If anything, I like the newer version better: it has many felicitous examples of orchestration and adds fewer embellishments to the original Bartok sketches. Of course, had Bartok lived, he might have added more to his concerto (for instance, the slow movement as it stands seems rather brief - though I think it works just fine). But perhaps it is better simply to stick with what Bartok wrote and leave it at that. The performances are ideal: the violist's tone is firm and rich throughout, and the orchestra provides supple dialogue with the soloist. My only complaint is that the last movement could have gone a bit faster (when I played it in my college orchestra, the soloist really went like a whirlwind). Were they perhaps worried that this movement too would sound too short? But no matter. Naxos continues to astound with its fine issues at extraordinarily low prices. I encourage music lovers to grab the best Naxos CD's (including this one) with avidity.

I am really not concerned about the controversy surrounding the Bartok viola concerto. It is simply a splendid work, with many passages marked undeniably with Bartok's stamp. (Don't listen to the editorial reviewer; it's a great piece!) It is wonderful to have both the Serly and the Peter Bartok/Paul Neubauer versions together for comparison. If anything, I like the newer version better: it has many felicitous examples of orchestration and adds fewer embellishments to the original Bartok sketches. Of course, had Bartok lived, he might have added more to his concerto (for instance, the slow movement as it stands seems rather brief - though I think it works just fine). But perhaps it is better simply to stick with what he wrote and leave it at that. The performances are ideal: the violist's tone is firm and rich throughout, and the orchestra provides supple dialogue with the soloist. My only complaint is that the last movement could have gone a bit faster (when I played it in my college orchestra, the soloist really went like a whirlwind). Were they perhaps worried that this movement too would sound too short? But no matter. Naxos continues to astound with its fine issues at extraordinarily low prices. I advise music lovers to grab the best Naxos CD's (including this one) with avidity.

Bartok's Viola Concerto has intrigued me for 20 years. With this recording I really got to know the work much better. I can't choose between either version. I usually play both in succession. This piece must surely have been his melancholy farewell to life, sick, broke and lonely when composed. The performances are splendid.

The Serly Rhapsody and Bartok's Pictures are well played excellent works. The reason to get this recording is to get the orchestration as authorized by Peter Bartok, the composer's younger son. Tibor Serly did an excellent job of deciphering the work. His version is included on this CD as a comparison. The new orchestration corrects numerous wrong notes. The orchestration restores important points. In the beginning, Bartok asks for timpani accompaniment. It is magical. The orcestration is a big improvement in the first movement and a modest improvement in the second. The finale is too heavily orcestrated. The Erdelyi performance (available from Concordance) improves matters in the finale, but is less effective elsewhere. It is a tossup with this recording perhaps holding the edge. The performance is excellent. Despite this, I still cherish Menuhin's recorded performance of this work (with Menuhin playing Viola). This Naxos release, however, is the one to get.

For me, the Serly version of the concerto does Bartok few favors. The version by the composer's son and son-in-law improves things, but not much. The best completion -- something that actually raises the viola concerto to the level of other late Bartok, like the third piano concerto -- is by violist Csaba Erdelyi, recorded on Concordance CCD03. Unfortunately, due to awful copyright laws and to certain editors apparently afraid of competition, is not available in most of the world. Serly performed a service by keeping the score alive to the present day, but it misses the essence of Bartok's music. The Bartok-Neubauer completion doesn't essentially change that perception. The Erdelyi, however, actually makes you feel that Bartok is in the room, at least. The performance is okay, but it's of the wrong score (twice!).

This disc contains excellent recordings of
"Two Pictures" and the "Viola Concerto".

I definitely prefer the version with Tibor Serly's orchestration.

Though this concerto is not in the same league as Bartok's two brilliant violin concertos, I'd say the finale qualifies as a masterpiece.

Bartok was dying when he composed the "Viola Concerto". It sounds as if his spirit were being called home to Transylvania.

If you compare the Bartok Viola Concerto with other candidates in the same league such as Schubert No 8 , Bruckner No 9 or most famous of all, the Mozart Requiem, then it clearly doesn't quite make it. The Concerto for Orchestra and even the third Piano Concerto are better pieces. This is well played, however, and I will let the musicologists argue about which version is better.