Béla Bartók - Piano Concertos (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Béla Bartók

• Piano Concerto No. 1, Sz. 83
• Piano Concerto No. 2, Sz. 95
• Piano Concerto No. 3, Sz. 119 (completed by Tibor Serly)

Krystian Zimerman, piano

Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

Hélène Grimaud, piano

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

Pierre Boulez, conductor

Date: 2005

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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Review

It’s interesting that for Pierre Boulez, Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto is ‘the Cinderella of the family’, and doubly interesting given the recorded evidence, where Boulez and Hélène Grimaud turn prince and princess for the most memorable outing the work has had in years. Grimaud relishes Bartók’s solo writing (try the luscious de-synchronising chords from 3’28” into the first movement). Then there’s the way she can suddenly reduce the volume and body of her tone – at 4’13” into the second movement, for example, just before the high violins return (playing with the greatest purity). The woodwind birdsong at the centre of the Adagio sings out to a keen staccato; the timps and bass drum in the finale are wonderfully vivid.

How different is the Second Concerto, a high-energy production from Berlin. In the first movement the winds yak away while Leif Ove Andsnes approximates an angelic typist tabulating at speed, halfway between Anda’s playfulness and Pollini’s iron-fisted aggression. The Adagio sections of the second movement are held dead still, with roaring timpani rolls at the centre, while Andsnes’s account of the scurrying presto passage (5’01”) is even-fingered and dextrous, the recorded balance allowing for plenty of detail in both the foreground and background. But it’s the finale that shows Andsnes and Boulez exhibiting the most power and prowess. Try from 3’27” where Boulez cues gathering fanfares and Andsnes wrestles with the big drums: a stunning onslaught.

Krystian Zimerman’s account of the First Concerto is a refined tour de force, immaculate, controlled, sometimes quite free; Boulez’s conducting is at times just a little stiff-jointed. The sullen waltz at the centre of the second movement builds to a sonorous climax and the finale is feather-light, though I sense that Zimerman would have preferred a more playful sparring partner. And the recorded balance troubles me: the piano is far too close, the string line at 7’24” is all but swamped by the soloist.

Summing up, Grimaud’s Third is a winner; the Second with Andsnes has a fabulous finale, and Zimerman’s First is brilliant in parts, if not quite a meeting of minds. As to rivals, Peter Donohoe and Simon Rattle give us a cracking First; András Schiff’s set with Iván Fischer offers a rather more lyrical slant than the brawny Zoltán Kocsis (also with Fischer), whom I prefer; Géza Anda with Ferenc Fricsay evidently loves every moment; and in the first two concertos Pollini and Abbado are bold as brass and just a little brittle. My first choices: Kocsis and Anda.

— 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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Krystian Zimerman (born 5 December 1956) is a Polish concert pianist and conductor. Born in Zabrze, Southern Poland, he studied at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. His international career was launched when he won the 1975 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition. He then toured widely and made a number of recordings. Since 1996, he has taught piano at the Music Academy in Basel, Switzerland. Zimerman is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces and is a supporter of contemporary music.

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Leif Ove Andsnes (born 7 April 1970) is a Norwegian pianist. He was born at Karmøy and studied with Jiří Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory, making his debut in Oslo in 1987. Andsnes's broad repertoire included piano works of Norwegian composers, large-scale concerti (such as those of Brahms, Rachmaninov, Bartók and Lutosławski), and chamber music. He has won many awards, including the Hindemith Prize (1987), Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (1997), Gilmore Artist Award (1998), Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards (2000) and the Gramophone Classical Music Awards (8 times).

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Hélène Grimaud (born 7 November 1969) is a French classical pianist. She studied with Jacques Rouvier at the Conservatoire de Paris, as well as with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher. She tours extensively as a soloist and recitalist. A committed chamber musician, she has also performed at the most prestigious festivals and cultural events with a wide range of musical collaborators. Grimaud has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002. Her recordings have been critically acclaimed and awarded numerous accolades, such as Diapason d'or, Grand Prix du disque and the Echo Klassik Award.

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