Concerto for Orchestra
Bartók wrote this brilliant, atmospheric orchestral showcase for the legendary conductor Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Recommended recording: Chicago SO/Fritz Reiner BMG Living Stereo 82876613902
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Bartók creates an extraordinary range of colours and atmospheric effects from an unusual collection of instruments, including a virtuosic solo piano part.
Recommended recording: Hungarian National PO/Zoltán Kocsis Hungaroton HSACD 32510
Piano Concerto No. 3
Listeners who fear Bartók’s music may be too astringent for their taste should try the nature portrait at the heart of this Concerto’s slow movement.
Recommended recording: András Schiff; Budapest Festival Orchestra/Iván Fischer Warner Maestro 2564696558
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
One of Bartók’s most powerful works, this psychological drama involves Bluebeard and his wife Judith, who insists on discovering all her husband’s dark secrets.
Recommended recording: Elena Zhidkova, Willard White; LSO/Valery Gergiev LSO Live LSO 0675
Romanian Folk Dances
Bartók at his most light and accessible, revealing in the blend of central European with a touch of the Moorish.
Recommended recording: Hungarian National PO/Zoltán Kocsis Hungaroton HSACD 32506
