Béla Bartók - Piano Works (Zoltán Kocsis)

Information

Composer: Béla Bartók

• Allegro Barbaro, Sz. 49
• 3 Rondos on Folk Tunes, Sz. 84
• 3 Hungarian Folk Tunes, Sz. 66
• Suite, Op. 14, Sz. 62
• Piano Sonata, Sz. 80
• Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
• Old Dance Songs from "15 Hungarian Peasant Songs", Sz. 71

Zoltán Kocsis, piano

Date: 1975

Label: Denon

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

Review

For a CD-only issue 48 minutes may not seem a generous measure. But the programme is exceptionally well chosen, brilliantly played and decently recorded—it provides an excellent survey of Bartok's piano works.

Three of the main landmarks in that output are the Allegro barbaro, the Suite and the Sonata. They are representative of, respectively, Bartok's first maturity (1911, the time of Bluebeard), his most intense post-Romanticism (1916, the time of the Second Quartet), and his most radical modernism (1926, just before the Third and Fourth Quartets). Kocsis shows that there is no need to push the piano through the floor in order to register the full impact of this music; on the other hand he is never unduly cautious or deferential. His tempo for the Allegro barbaro is an athletic minim = 108, rather than the indicated minim = 76-84, and his observance of sostenuto and meno mosso markings here and in the Suite is less emphatic than usual. But that is exactly how Bartok himself played these pieces, and some of the nuances in the fulminating third movement of the Suite also follow the composer's performance closely. There is just as clear a feeling of authenticity in slow movements, as in the impassive severity of the Sonata's middle movement.

I should not imply that Kocsis's style is in any way cramped by the example of Bartok's recordings, and the composer might well have raised an eyebrow at the added ornaments and octave doublings in the Romanian folkdances, not to mention the hair-raising tempo in the final dance. But in some ways the most impressive aspect of the playing is not in the realm of pianistic thrills at all, but in the subtle rubato of the Hungarian peasant songs, the wistful tone of the first Rondo, the eloquent parlando of the Three Hungarian folktunes. These more obviously folky miniatures, make an ideal complement to the 'abstract' masterpieces.

The recording dates from 1975 and has the slightly eerie ambience of an empty examination room. But the sound is impressive enough and the 23-year-old Kocsis plays with a vigour which irresistibly draws the listener into the music. A most valuable recital.

— Gramophone

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

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).

***

Zoltán Kocsis (30 May 1952 – 6 November 2016) was a Hungarian pianist, conductor and composer. Born in Budapest, he studied at the Béla Bartók Conservatory and the Franz Liszt Academy with Pál Kadosa, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág. After winning the Hungarian Radio Beethoven Competition in 1970, Kocsis rapidly established a career as an international pianist. Dividing his time between playing and conducting, he appeared with leading orchestras, while also toured extensively in Europe, America and the Far East. Kocsis was musical director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic in 1997 until his death in 2016.

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