Customer Reviews

Out of Doors - Piano Music of Bela Bartok

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am so sad to have arrived so late to this CD. It is quite possible that opinions by some reviewers may have helped to doom it, at least on Amazon. As a result, I am sorry to have to inform potential listeners this late in the market cycle, but Max Levinson plays these pieces with a rare degree of virtuosity, flexibility, and sensitivity. As with most music, Bartok's music can be played in any number of ways successfuly, but it is hard to imagine a performance any better than what is presented here.

I will confess that my bias comes from a long-time familiarity with Bartok's own recordings, which show his own brilliance as a pianist. What strikes me about Levinson is how closely he approaches Bartok's own fluid sense of line, harnessed as it is to a rock solid, yet flexible sense of tempo. (My favorite recital from Bartok, in this respect, is his recording of the Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata with Szigetti at the violin.)

The whole effect is given additional depth by his seemingly infinite gradient of touch, which allows him to follow Bartok's sometimes accelerating and repetitive waves with the finest increases in intensity. That same touch, as in The Night's Music from the "Out of Doors Suite" or in the Molto Tranquillo from the "Dance Suite," offers up a multi-dimensional canvas of sound from the lightest breath to the sharpest, yet still softly fleeting pulsation, made altogether whole by a ceaseless forward movement. No matter the languidness of tempo, the motion never stagnates.

These pieces vary greatly in difficulty, yet he approaches them all with an equal wealth of attention to detail. The "Romanian Folk Dances," for example, among the more facile gems, he never rushes, no matter how quickly he dashes them off. He never leaves so much as a note unspoken, or the slightest phrase unexpressed. And, again, his rubato flows ever within the logic of the entire line, never pressed to excess or left dangling in incompleteness.

The "Sonata" and "Allegro barbaro," among the strongest and more difficult of the works, are filled with staccato clusters, yet they sing thanks to his infinitely fluid touch. His sound never spreads even in the most punctuated moments. He never loses the music in what lesser pianists might find only noise.

If you can still find this CD on Amazon (at least a few were still available for my purchase), you should be richly rewarded by it. I recently heard Levinson in concert for the first time and I can only hope that we are fortunate to have more recordings from him. (One other equally rich recording of music from Brahms, Schumann, Schoenberg, and Kirchner is available as of this writing.) It is a sad fact that in our time, pianists who 30 years ago would have inspired a generation can remain all but anonymous. Whether by fate or choice, Max Levinson is clearly one of these.

Would it be an exaggeration if I said that this was probably the worst recording of Bartok's solo piano pieces on the market? Probably not. Levinson's playing is flat, colorless, and seemingly devoid of any musicality or feeling. Add to this liner notes that are as cutesy as cutesy can be, and you have a CD that is bound for the bargain bin. Save your money - or better yet, purchase Kovecavich's or Kocsis' wonderful recordings of these pieces.

I don't understand how anyone could give this recording a low rating. Max Levinson plays with excellent sensitivity and bravado. He isn't afraid of dissonance yet plays with conscientious sensitivity. The recording quality is great and it has the BEST underrated, underplayed work in the Bartok repetoire: THE DANCE SUITE.
This suite is off the charts fantastic.

I encourage everyone to get this cd and experience how dynamic Bartok can be.

Bad Reviewers: Even if you personally want to hear Bartok played another way, how can you give such a low rating to such an earnest and straightforward attempt; thus crippling this pianists sales on amazon?
For shame...

Sorry, Music Fan, but I have to agree with the other reviewer. I bought this CD having heard nothing but wonderful things about Levinson's playing and am incredibly disappointed at the result. After a single listening I took it to a used book store and traded it away. As a Regents' Professor of Piano, I too have played many of these works and am afraid that Levinson's performances are not even up to my students' standards, let alone mine. Please do yourself a favor and do not buy this recording. You will only regret it.

Bartók (1881-1945) collected native folk songs from Hungary, North Africa, and the Balkans, as inspiration for his own compositions. His music is high-class, like Mozart's or Beethoven's, yet it expresses a side of humanity far different than that expressed by almost any other composer. Because Bartók was influenced by folk music he conveys the simple elements of life which are often overlooked by those composers influenced by high society. Part of his genius is in his special appreciation for nature. His music seems to draw parallels between humans and nature, perhaps exploring instinct and fear and other aspects of life in the wild.

Perhaps one of the difficulties in performing Bartók is in conveying the music without infusing it with one's own, personal "feelings". Levinson, a young pianist now receiving critical acclaim world-wide, surpasses this difficulty. His interpretations express the full character and vigor of folk music and the dramatic beauty and wildness of nature, with exceptional clarity. His unabashed, bold, yet sensitive style is well suited for this composer. Having performed some of these works myself, including the Sonata, I can recommend this recording as one of the best. Bartók "experts" will appreciate Levinson's command of the instrument and the music, and other first-time listeners will likely find this a refreshing variety of pieces for their classical collection. Some alternative recordings are the live recital recording of the Sonata played by Martha Argerich, and the Out of Doors Suite with pianist Murray Perahia.