Review: Bartók--The Hungarian Soul, Or Goulash? 

Will we get „Best Bartók String Quartets“ video?

I got this yesterday too. The Dezso Ranki recordings are quite welcome, as well as the Gyorgy Sebok material. Given the generally fine piano and chamber curation, had the producers hustled a bit more for both excellence and variety, they could have coughed up Peter Donohoe's Bartok Piano Sonata and the fantastic Annie Fischer/Igor Markevitch Third Piano Concerto. And for a viable Warner group alternative Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, I would have chosen the Güher & Süher Pekinel recording originally on Teldec.And while the violin sonata performances are perfectly fine, wouldn't it have been more interesting to have resurrected the Sandor Vegh/Peter Pettinger 1971 recordings of the two sonatas, originally on a Telefunken LP; I have no idea if it ever came out on CD.

It sounds like a lot of stuff in this box is not worth the time but those piano recordings by Dezso Ranki are amazing! They are blowing me away!

EMI has already reissued several Bartok compilations that feature the earliest of Rafael Kubelik’s 3 stereo recordings of the mighty CFO - with the Royal Philharmonic. While it doesn’t quite match his later glorious BSO effort on Deutsche Grammophon, it is quite stirring and good enough for EMI to have considered including in their complete box.

They could have, should have had Argerich/Bishop Kovacevich’s Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion-a real classic and so much better than the Labeques! Also Kyung-Wha Chung did a fine Bartok Second Violin Concerto and Rhapsodies with CBSO/Rattle for stereo versions of those works.

It is difficult describe, and do not know the reason either despite being a Hungarian, it is interesting? sad? that Bartok was never considered as someone great Hungarian composer that filled concert halls. His opera the Bluebeard's Castle, I remember was played, long time ago and was better known. Kodaly I think was better accepted, no clue why either. Just a bit side information. I like your presentations a lot and purchased multiple albums you were recommending. I belong to the just below 50 generation and enjoy classical music a lot. Even my kids like and listen to them in paralel all today's generation music. I am very happy with that and hope it gives you and others some encouragement that classical music is forever, especially now when it can provide calmness in this world.

The Decca and Hungaraton boxes are both Out of Print. I'm in mourning. I have neither; I want both. And neither can be had for less than several hundred dollars. Sorrows!

I looked through my shelves of Bartok - Decca, Philips, DG, Sony, Hungaroton (Kocsis Concerto for Orchestra, Dance Suite - wow what great performances), RCA, all multiple times. EMI (Warner) - two (Rattle both painfull aberrations). They could have usefully included Hugh Wolff's Divertimento and Romanian Folk Dances originally on Teldec and although I know many enjoy the Alban Berg versions of the Quartets, I find personally the Eder's originally on Teldec more intimate and less chromium plated than the Berg's (although again nothing I'm familiar with in the Warner pantheon, Quartet wise, holds a candle to the Takacs' on Decca).

Thanks for the warning - I might have been tempted. It looks as if the Decca Complete Works has vanished which is a great pity. Luckily, I bought it in time, and I think it's great. It really IS complete, and comes with a book with all the texts. One major omission from the set you review is "Cantata Profana". I've always loved this work, which seems not to have recorded very often. This is a shame.

Hi Dave! How about a talk about Bartok’s stage works? Or at least on Bluebeard’s Castle? I could not find Bluebeard’s on your videos. Did you already do a talk? Best, Paulo

Decca HAD a complete Bartók Edition available, but it’s long gone. Out of print and impossible to find. Ergo, this new Warner Edition is the best choice one has these days.

It would be worth getting for the chamber works and piano works alone, as those are not readily available. The orchestral works are 20th-century warhorses, so you will surely have duplication unless you are "new" to Bartok (who could be?)

Warner seems to be in the business of saving souls these days. First, the "Slavic Soul" Dvorak compendium (which I bought as a result of your mostly favorable review), now the Hungarian Soul. What might be next? Can we hope for a "Romanian Soul" Enesco box? That would be most welcome. Of course there are numerous Russian soul compendia out there, many of which we probably don't need. Your point about EMI not being a "Bartok label" was well taken. Except for the Menuhin/Furtwängler Violin Concerto no. 2, all of the Bartok in my collection are on other labels. Reiner, Bernstein, Solti are givens. However, Dorati's Mercury recordings have a particular appeal. His Mercury Concerto for Orchestra is for me the most exciting and colorful version I have heard; warmer than Reiner and Solti; not as plush as Ormandy; more involving even than Bernstein (whose CFO would be a very closer unner-up). Thanks, Dave, as always for exploring recent bargain boxes.

There seems to be a disturbing pattern developing with these large box sets for the inclusion of some "not so great" performances to be buried inside. In many cases the recordings probably never sold well as stand-alone CDs or LPs. However, this will probably continue as record labels are in business to make money, not friends.

David's mailbox sounds like December all year long.

Andre Gertler is one of my choice for violin works.