{"id":30638,"date":"2023-07-18T10:44:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T08:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=186652"},"modified":"2023-07-18T11:40:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T09:40:05","slug":"bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Concerto for Orchestra: A guide to Bart\u00f3k\u2019s masterpiece and its best recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jessica Duchen introduces Bart\u00f3k’s zestful, life-affirming work, his concerto for orchestra, written during his final exile in the US, and finds the best recordings <\/p>

By Jessica Duchen\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 18 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

When B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k<\/a> and his wife, the pianist Ditta P\u00e1sztory, left Hungary for the US in 1940, it was not a moment too soon. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The composer was horrified by the Hungarian government\u2019s alignment with Nazi Germany, and his outspoken stance seemed increasingly likely to put his freedom, or his life, under threat. He had read the runes well. In 1944, Hitler\u2019s forces overran the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

In New York, the Bart\u00f3ks had other things to contend with: irascible landlords, street noise that sometimes confined the sound-sensitive composer to the bathroom <\/span>for some peace, and, of course, the indignity <\/span>of having to start again with nothing but a back catalogue. Worse, he was suffering unexplained bouts of fever \u2013 the first sign of the leukaemia that would later kill him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When did Bart\u00f3k compose his Concerto for Orchestra?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Then, however, a <i>deus ex machina<\/i> appeared beside his hospital bed. Serge Koussevitzky, chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, had been persuaded by two of Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Hungarian colleagues, the violinist Josef Szigeti and the conductor Fritz Reiner, to approach him for a commission. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Bart\u00f3k needed both the money and the vote of confidence. Retreating in August 1943 to the quiet surroundings of Saranac Lake, he set about writing a substantial, five-movement work and finished it in under two months. Rather than a <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-symphony\/"\">symphony<\/a><\/strong>, he titled it Concerto for Orchestra.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The result was not only a masterpiece, but also has proved enduringly popular. For a composer with a reputation for difficult works, it offers unusual melodic charm; for one with a bent for darkness, it offsets its shadows with sunlit vitality, plus some outright comedy. This is a Hungarian in New York: it\u2019s full of the rhythms of his native language but fizzes with relentless Big Apple energy and optimism, belying its composer\u2019s fragile state of health. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">As word spread of Bart\u00f3k\u2019s presence in the US, more commissions followed; by the time the Concerto was premiered on 1 December 1944, he had almost more work than he could handle. The performance was an immediate success, and Koussevitzky followed it with another a few weeks later, broadcast on the radio, <\/span><span class=\""s2"\">plus a New York premiere in Carnegie Hall. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Indian summer also produced his Sonata for Solo Violin (for <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/yehudi-menuhins-finest-moments\/"\">Yehudi Menuhin<\/a><\/strong>), his Piano Concerto No. 3 (for Ditta) and the Viola Concerto, which was unfinished when leukaemia caught up with him in September 1945. On his deathbed, he told his doctor that his greatest regret was leaving with a \u2018full trunk\u2019 of unwritten music.<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/bartok-discover-6-of-his-lesser-known-works\/"\">Bart\u00f3k: discover six of his lesser-known works<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/five-essential-works-bartok\/"\">Five essential works by Bart\u00f3k<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <h2>Why did he call it <span class=\""s1"\">Concerto for Orchestra?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The Concerto for Orchestra does what it says on the tin. It\u2019s a five-movement showpiece for a top-notch orchestra, drawing out the instruments\u2019 individual natures: whirling flutes, cygnety oboes and velvety brass, searing strings and, to close, the biggest party in town.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\"> Bart\u00f3k wrote: \u2018The general mood of the work represents, apart from the jesting second movement, a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to the life-assertion of the last one\u2026 The title\u2026 is explained by its tendency to treat the single orchestral instruments in a concertant or soloistic manner.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>A guide to the music of <span class=\""s1"\">Concerto for Orchestra<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The introduction rises from a shadowy beginning, gathering pace until the full orchestra springs at last into a vigorous <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/discovering-music-sonata-form\/"\">sonata-form<\/a><\/strong> <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-does-allegro-mean-in-music\/"\"><i>allegro<\/i><\/a><\/strong>. The second movement, \u2018Game [or \u2018Presentation\u2019] of Couples\u2019, offers a procession of woodwind and brass in pairs and, later, larger groups \u2013 you need a very good third <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/the-bassoon-a-guide-to-the-orchestras-largest-wind-instrument\/"\">bassoon<\/a><\/strong> for this piece. The \u2018Elegia\u2019 is the work\u2019s dark heart, where Bart\u00f3k seems to release his full anguish; woodwind whirlpools almost recall the Lake of Tears in his opera<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/bluebeards-castle-bartok\/"\"><i> Duke Bluebeard\u2019s Castle<\/i>. <\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The \u2018Intermezzo interotto\u2019 is at first a richly melodic inspiration, its big viola theme based, according to Bart\u00f3k, on the song \u2018Hungary, Gracious and Beautiful\u2019. But then the circus comes to town. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Bart\u00f3k\u2019s son Peter listened with his father to a broadcast of <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/introduction-shostakovichs-symphony-no-7\/"\">Shostakovich\u2019s brand-new Symphony No. 7<\/a> <\/strong>and noticed his irritation at the infuriating march theme, repeated many times over. Here Bart\u00f3k sends it up, complete with a woodwind giggle and possibly the biggest raspberry ever blown on a concert platform. The <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-isintermezzo\/"\">intermezzo<\/a><\/strong> then gives way to a finale of matchless vitality, the violin lines chasing each other in an exhilarating gallop across the open plains. Bart\u00f3k revised the ending after the premiere; the first version ends with a downward plunge, the second with an upward rush of joy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">You need, for an ideal performance, both a technically faultless, magnificent ensemble and a conductor who fully identifies with Bart\u00f3k\u2019s idiom, with all its drama, detail, intensity and quirkiness. Various accounts hit my cutting room floor when an interesting interpretation had an orchestra that didn\u2019t match up, or when a Rolls-Royce ensemble\u2019s conductor sounded frankly too comfortable. There is not one dull second in this piece, and if a recording does not hold you enthralled throughout, it\u2019s not doing its job. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The best recordings of <span class=\""s1"\">Concerto for Orchestra<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Iv\u00e1n Fischer <\/span><span class=\""s2"\"><i>(conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Budapest Festival Orchestra<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Philips 476 7255<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The Budapest Festival Orchestra recorded the Concerto for Orchestra under its founder and chief conductor Iv\u00e1n Fischer in 2005, and if any contemporary account has it all, it\u2019s this one. First, Fischer observes every detail in both letter and spirit, which is not always the case elsewhere. The opening is rivetingly mysterious, its gathering of forces brilliantly paced, the soft semiquaver entries in the brass offering Hungarian-style impetus on the first note (interestingly, some other Hungarian orchestras avoid this articulation, perhaps deliberately). The <i>allegro<\/i> shines and dances, while the brass playing is so radiant that that alone could almost have secured this version top billing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The \u2018Game of Couples\u2019 \u2013 or \u2018Presentation of Couples\u2019, as conductor Georg Solti once spotted in the manuscript, complete with a faster metronome mark than was common \u2013 has a brisk India-rubber bounce, with vivid, characterful articulation that draws out the individual qualities of each instrument. The staccato oboes suit the players to a tee, while the brass chorale is smooth and suavely phrased. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The \u2018Elegia\u2019 opens with a chilling sense of tragedy, the oboe keening its lament; this is Bart\u00f3k in his \u2018night music\u2019 mode, but with many new shadings of emotion. The strings let rip with a dug-in sound that is harsh as well as opulent, capturing the intense, impassioned atmosphere of this howl of darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The \u2018Intermezzo\u2019 begins with a Brahmsy grace, plus gorgeous songfulness in the big tune, before the interruption delivers a level of slapstick that wouldn\u2019t be out of place accompanying Laurel and Hardy. But the transition back to the melody\u2019s muted iteration throws all the laughter into perspective; Fischer is attentive here to a satisfyingly subtle narrative. The finale is full of drive and glitter, with vividly marked articulation and the long crescendos perfectly paced. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Through Fischer\u2019s balance of rhythm, irony and surprise, all the startling originality of the work comes bowling through. Transitions and gear-changes are elegantly worked, cinematically shifting the moods \u2013 you could envisage the murmur of a gathering crowd, trees in the wind by the Danube, or simply the heady, thrilling energy of the Hungarian folk music to which Bart\u00f3k devoted so much of his life. And the recorded sound quality is clean as a whistle, unlike my other top choices (below), which are historical\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizerdeals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Bartok-Concerto-Orchestra-Village-Kossuth\\\/dp\\\/B00000I0LA","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"24.5-45.5","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" concerto=\"\" for=\"\" orchestra=\"\" bb=\"\" finale=\"\" presto=\"\" style=\""border-radius:\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""152"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" loading=\""lazy"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/0zY07JSZ3WGeQxndgkSPrA?utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><i>G<\/i><\/span><span class=\""s1"\"><i>eorg Solti (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Decca 467 6862<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Georg Solti and the LSO give the BFO a run for their money in a splendidly played recording from 1965 that has rightly become a classic. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Solti pulls no punches, but there\u2019s subtlety too: for the first movement\u2019s oboe-focused second subject, he offers a remarkable new colour, almost like a change of lighting. The second movement balances folksiness with classical poise; the \u2018Elegia\u2019 shivers with windswept nightmares, then evaporates as if awakening. After an excellent <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/dmitri-shostakovich\/"\">Shostakovich<\/a><\/strong> ham-up, the finale, even if on the scrambled side, is high on exhilaration.<i>\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Concerto-Orchestra-Dance-Suite-Solti\\\/dp\\\/B000059ZIG","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"8.4-15.6","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""p2"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Serge Koussevitzky (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Naxos 8.110105<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The recording of the broadcast second performance, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Koussevitzky on 30 December 1944, is from the horse\u2019s mouth, and uses the original ending. Koussevitzky\u2019s interpretation is all about structural awareness and sense of line. In the relatively brisk \u2018Elegia\u2019, the plunging descents that punctuate the melody conjured, for me, a terrifying image of bombs falling on Budapest, in a way that no other account did. The finale is non-manic enough to let us hear it properly, and all the more exciting for that. Sound quality is dodgy, but it\u2019s fascinating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizerdeals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Concerto-Orchestra-Mussorgsky-Pictures-Exhibition\\\/dp\\\/B00004U2KH\\\/ref=sr_1_1","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"7-13","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Fritz Reiner (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>RCA G010003641701P<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Fritz Reiner, who helped persuade Koussevitzky to commission the concerto, had a reputation for ferocity \u2013 and if you want scruff-of-the-neck playing, try his 1955 recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Recorded sound is unreliable, but the playing is sweet and bitter, alive in every note, the atmosphere at boiling point. For the \u2018Intermezzo\u2019, more charm would help, but the circus episode offers irresistibly high spirits. The finale is a wild dance, not a mad rush, and the amazing textural effects are the icing on the cake.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizerdeals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Concerto-Orchestra-Bela-Bartok\\\/dp\\\/B00U4CRMIW\\\/ref=sr_1_1","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"21-39","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <iframe title=\""Concerto\" for=\"\" orchestra=\"\" sz.=\"\" bb=\"\" v.=\"\" finale=\"\" presto=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xNoD_dOq9R0?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p5"\"><strong><span class=\""s3"\">And one to avoid\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">In the Berlin Philharmonic\u2019s 1965 recording under Herbert von Karajan, the orchestra sounds beautifully plush, as always, but that isn\u2019t the point in this piece. The strings are syrupy, the brass soporific and the bassoons lack sparkle. The \u2018Elegia\u2019 is not a searing, bomb-site lament, but virtually moans over being too fat for its silken suit. Indeed, the whole thing feels bizarrely narcissistic and lacking <\/span><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Jessica Duchen introduces Bart\u00f3k’s zestful, life-affirming work, his concerto for orchestra, written during his final exile in the US, and finds the best recordings <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30639,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",984,1000,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings-295x300.jpg",295,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings-768x780.jpg",768,780,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",800,813,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",984,1000,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/bartoks-concerto-for-orchestra-a-guide-to-bartoks-masterpiece-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",984,1000,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Jessica Duchen introduces Bart\u00f3k's zestful, life-affirming work, his concerto for orchestra, written during his final exile in the US, and finds the best recordings","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/30638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}