Béla Bartók - Piano Concertos (Géza Anda)

Information

Composer: Béla Bartók

• Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91, Sz. 83
• Piano Concerto No. 2, BB 101, Sz. 95
• Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127, Sz. 119

Géza Anda, piano

Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

Ferenc Fricsay, conductor

Date: 1960

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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Review

Much as one would like to tout the new as the best, there are some older recordings where a very special chemistry spells 'definitive', and that pose an almost impossible challenge to subsequent rivals. Such is this 1959 recording of Bartók's Second Piano Concerto, a tough, playful, pianistically aristocratic performance where dialogue is consistently keen and spontaneity is captured on the wing (even throughout numerous sessions). The first movement is relentless but never tires the ear; the second displays two very different levels of tension, one slow and mysterious, the other hectic but controlled; and although others might have thrown off the finale's octaves with even greater abandon, Anda's performance is the most successful in suggesting savage aggression barely held in check. 

The Third Concerto is again beautifully moulded and carefully thought-through. Moments such as the loving return from the second movement's chirpy central episode (track 8, 5'54") are quite unforgettable, while the finale is both nimble and full-toned. The First Concerto was the last to be recorded and is perhaps the least successful of the three: here ensemble is occasionally loose, and characterization less vivid than with, say, Donohoe and Rattle. Still, it is a fine performance and the current transfer - which is both richer and better focused than its two-CD Dokumente predecessor (5/R9) – has been lovingly effected. To take just one tiny example, the cymbal crash 0'22" into track 1 (the First Concerto's first movement) seems to have been been re-edited so as to correct an ugly acoustical cut-off. 

As to the best rivals, Kocsis remains the preeminent virtuoso but doesn't quite match Anda's charismatic personality (at least he didn't at that stage of his career); Sandor has bags to say but his accompaniments are under-characterized; Donohoe and Rattle are thoughtful, intelligent and particularly impressive in No 1 ; and then there is Andor Foldes's expertly driven 1948 recording of No 2 (surely a prototype for Anda's) and Bernathova's breezy account of No 3, a personal favourite but not ideally coupled. I quote these alternatives for the sake of completeness - but if the 'bottom line' has to be a single recommendation, then this is it. 

— Rob Cowan

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Béla Bartók (25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist who is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century. As an ethnomusicologist, his fieldwork with the composer Zoltán Kodály formed the basis for all later research in the field. Bartók employed folk themes and rhythms into his own music, achieving a style that was nationalistic and deeply personal. His notable works include the opera Bluebeard's Castle (1911), 6 string quartets (1908–39), the Mikrokosmos piano set, Concerto for Orchestra (1943), and 3 piano concertos (1926, 1931 & 1945).

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Géza Anda (19 November 1921 – 13 June 1976) was a Hungarian pianist and conductor. He studied at the Musical Academy in Budapest under Ernő Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály. Anda settled in Switzerland in 1943 and was granted citizenship in 1955. In the course of an international career that began in 1947, Anda first achieved fame with virtuoso performances of the works of Franz Liszt, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Frédéric Chopin; later he became a specialist in German romantic ballads and the compositions of Béla Bartók. He was the first pianist to record the full cycle of Mozart's piano concerti.

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