Search - Bela Bartok, Alexander Rahbari, Marin Alsop :: Béla Bartók: A Portrait

A Great Overview of Bela Bartok.

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 05/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The great Hungarian composer Bela Bartok was a major musical innovator during the first half of the 20th century. His dense harmonies and progressive rhythms were as pioneering as anything done by Stravinsky or Shostakovich yet Bartok's music was unique, original and stood fully on its very own.

The latest installment of the Naxos label's "Portrait" series focuses on the life and music of Bartok and includes an excellent sampling of his works across two CDs. Excerpts from the famous "Mikrokosmos" as well as his string quartets and his violin and piano concertos are all included here. There are also excerpts from Bartok's most famous orchestral works - the timeless "Concerto For Orchestra" and the "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste".

Like any collection of a well-known composer, there are a few key moments missing here. His ballet "The Miraculous Mandarin" is only represented by a brief two minute excerpt while music from "The Wooden Prince" as well as his sole opera "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" are not included at all. The fact that the latter two works have not yet been released on the Naxos label probably has to do with their absence.

The 82 page booklet that accompanies the set offers a great insight into Bartok's life and musical genius. There are also parts of the text that go into great detail about the music itself. Several historic photos are displayed as well.

With this said, while there are some key elements missing in "A Portrait" of Bela Bartok, this collection is still a great overview of this dynamic composer. This is a great starting point in getting to know the music of Bartok. I also recommend picking up complete recordings of the "Concerto For Orchestra" (the Bernstein Century recording is essential in my opinion), the piano concertos as well as the string quartets."