Concerto pour orchestre, Musique pour cordes, percussions, celesta

Description

The Concerto for Orchestra by Bartók, at certain moments energetic and full of vitality, was an immediate success at its premiere given by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1944; since then, it has remained popular. It is a captivating work, filled with folk melodies from Central Europe, rhythms from North Africa, brilliant harmonies, and a lively orchestration that culminates in a strident final movement: guaranteed emotions. In a darker and less recent vein, the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta reveals a work on atmosphere, both powerful and gloomy. Due to its intensity, this composition has been used as a soundtrack for several films, notably in Shining by Stanley Kubrick. Rafael Kubelik recorded the Concerto for Orchestra many times during his career, but it is the 1974 version, recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, that stood out to critics. The magazine Gramophone praised its "pure animal excitement and biting intensity... with which the rhythms highlight the spirit, above all the peasant enthusiasm... It is a performance that keeps us smiling with pleasure."
Even though they were recorded in multichannel sound, these memorable performances were only available in the conventional two-channel format. Thanks to current technologies, the engineers at Pentatone have remastered the original recordings into immaculate and impactful sound to bring the performance back to life as it was originally.