This disc completes
Pierre Boulez's survey of the major orchestral works of
Béla Bartók with superlative recordings of three concertos: the Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra, the Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Piano, and the Concerto for Viola and Piano. The works themselves come from three different periods in the Hungarian composer's career; the Violin Concerto from his expressionist youth, the Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion from his modernist maturity, and the Viola Concerto from his American exile. Fortunately,
Boulez has matured enough to give all three works the performances they deserve. With violinist
Gidon Kremer and the
Berliner Philharmoniker, the Violin Concerto comes off as a deeply expressive and lovingly lyrical work with astringent harmonies but achingly beautiful melodies. With pianists
Pierre-Laurent Aimard and
Tamara Stefanovich, percussionists
Nigel Thomas and
Neil Percy and the
London Symphony, the Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion gets a more acerbic but brightly colorful and wonderfully rhythmic treatment. And with violist
Yuri Bashmet and the
BPO, the Viola Concerto receives a brilliant performance touched with longing and nostalgia. In every case, the soloists are first-rate, with
Kremer perhaps coming in first with his beautiful take on the Violin Concerto's opening Andante sostenuto. And in every case, the accompaniment is ideal. Both orchestras are among the world's greatest and
Boulez elicits from each of them performances of unsurpassed power and cogency. Recorded in crystalline digital sound, this disc should be heard by every
Bartók fan and by any fan of twentieth century music.