Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra & Piano Concerto No. 3

Album review

Bartók’s last two orchestral masterpieces, written in exile in the United States, are presented here; two “concertos”, one for solo piano, the other for full orchestra, hence its distinctive name of Concerto for Orchestra. Granted Bartók isn’t the first to have used such a title: it can be found as soon as 1925 with Hindemith, in 1931 with Malipiero, in 37 with Casella, and two years later with Kodály. Composed in one go during an unexpected remission from leukaemia, from August to October 1943, Concerto for Orchestra is the Hungarian’s only orchestral work of such scale. Fascinating in its musical hedonism and virtuosity required from each musician, this work serves as a summary for Bartók’s career. It explores the composer’s favourite writing styles as well as the folklores that have inspired him, from Central Europe to Arabic music. It also reveals the richness of Bartókian harmonics, ranging from the diatonic and modal clarity of popular music to a bitter yet always lyric chromaticism. As for Piano Concerto No. 3, it was almost completed before the composer’s death: only the orchestration of the last seventeen measures was missing. It is the only piano piece Bartók didn’t compose on his own initiative, but for his wife Ditta Pásztory – who never had the heart to play it… With Javier Perianes on the piano, conductor Pablo Heras-Casado gives life to this concerto for orchestra with ardour and clarity, thus restoring all of its modernity. © SM/Qobuz