Search - Bartok, Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra :: Concerto for Orchestra

A sleeper; excellent version of the Concerto for Orchestra

Stephen E. Lefebure | Evergreen, CO USA | 10/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"in the history of performance practice concerning these works, this is surely a sleeper. For the Concerto, the mighty fritz reiner/ chicago version set the benchmark, then the twin opposing versions of Karajan with Berlin and Solti with Chicago were the two to watch for years. Berlin with Boulez in 2003 has a version on dvd that is interesting but mainly powerful in the last movement of the concerto for orchestra.

This version is amazing to me in revealing the beauty of various lines which the overall dramatic sweep of the other versions had hidden. The individual sections and instruments come to the fore more than they are able to in the other visions. The orchestra may be below the standard of the other versions, but that is not particularly obvious or evident even on the final movement of the Concerto. While the Celesta work may be best represented in an old Menuhin version I think this is my current favorite for the Concerto."