Search - Bartok, Kossuth, Blomstedt :: Concerto for Orchestra

A splendid Concerto for Orchestra

Matthew Vaughan | Palo Alto, CA United States | 05/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording went right to the top of my list (I also have the classic Reiner/Chicago--the recording I learned this piece from--and Dorati/Concertgebouw). A fabulous performance, top-notch recording, and a reading from Blomstedt that matches the best out there in most aspects--logic and clarity as well as fire and excitement, and tone and coloration. The second movement (game of couples) is the best I have ever heard--playful and splendidly virtuosic. As with many Blomstedt/SFS recordings, this one is unjustly overlooked.Kossuth is also well-presented. It is an early, youthful work--earnest and idealistic in an overblown, somewhat Straussian manner (with titles like "What grief weighs upon your soul, my dear husband?", "Our country is in danger!", "Then our fate changed for the worse..." and "Come, come, you brave Hungarian heroes!"). Not one of Bartok's masterpieces, certainly, but probably worth hearing at least once (it does have some engaging heroic melodies)."