Béla Bartók - Kossuth; Concerto for Orchestra (Herbert Blomstedt)

Information

Composer: Béla Bartók

• Kossuth, BB 31
• Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor

Date: 1995

Label: Decca

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

The standout item in this release is Bartók’s early symphonic poem Kossuth, partly because of its relative rarity on discs, but also for the opportunity it provides to hear the composer’s nascent style, which was heavily influenced by Richard Strauss. (Bartók composed the piece in the wake of experiencing Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra). It’s chock-full of Straussian (and by derivation Lisztian) dramatic utterances, but Bartók’s own voice can be discerned in his already distinctive orchestral palette. Early work or not, Herbert Blomstedt brings his full artistic commitment to this music, which he realizes beautifully with the aid of virtuoso playing by the San Francisco Symphony.

With the Concerto for Orchestra the San Francisco musicians are of course on more familiar territory. Yet, while they do not exude the same sense of discovery as in Kossuth, there’s nothing routine about their performance, which is brilliant and polished throughout. Blomstedt has fresh ideas about the music that serve to enhance its effect rather than draw attention to themselves. Continuous flow is his main interpretive stance, and the music emerges organically, with each section transitioning fluidly into the next. The first movement has none of the start-stop quality found in other performances, and in this same vein the Elegia makes its terse argument without becoming quasi-operatic. Even with all of this first-rate music-making, it’s the sound of the orchestra (well reproduced by Decca’s vivid, high-impact recording) that gives the most pleasure. A unique release–if you missed it the first time around, Arkivmusic.com’s on-demand service gives you another chance.

— Victor Carr Jr

-----------------------------------------------------------

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).

***

Herbert Blomstedt (born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor who is noted for his performances of German and Austrian composers, and also as a champion of Scandinavian composers. He has been Music Director or Principal Conductor of the Norrköping Symphony (1954–62), Oslo Philharmonic (1962–68), Danish Radio Symphony (1967–77), Swedish Radio Symphony (1977–82), Staatskapelle Dresden (1975–85), San Francisco Symphony (1985–95), North German Radio Symphony (1996–98) and Leipzig Gewandhaus (1998–2005). At the age of 97 he continues to conduct concerts in Europe and the US.

-----------------------------------------------------------