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Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; etc. [Hybrid SACD]
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Customer Reviews
Rating:  - A very good choice...
I'm not sure where to put my review. Although I purchased the SACD version of this album, I don't have an SACD player, so what I'm listening to is the CD version. So I put a review on the CD version, but will add a few notes here.
I've listened to classical music for some time, though I was largely unfamiliar with Bartok's work when I bought this disc. In fact, I mostly listened to pre-20th century classical music, and had mixed feelings about the limited amount of 20th century music I did know well. This disc was both an introduction to Bartok and an attempt to get to know modern classical music better.
In all candidness, I was prepared to be disappointed, but definitely am not. While Bartok certainly broke with the preceding Romantic tradition, this disc is a collection of enjoyable music. I really enjoy the Concert for Orchestra, and listen to it frequently. If you absolutely, positively must have the melody of a Tchaikovsky, you might not like it, but it's a good piece of music with some beautiful segments. I have to admit that the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta doesn't do much for me (though other reviewers seem to like it), but the Hungarian Sketches are great--colorful and featuring some neat rhythms and harmony. All in all, this is a very worthwhile collection of music.
The sound quality--again, I'm listening to the CD layer of the SACD Hybrid--is good. In fact, the positive reviews here and for other SACDs have me considering buying some new stereo equipment though.
All in all, this is a good purchase if you are thinking about trying out 20th century classical composers, generally, or Bartok, specifically. I don't think one need be a fan of dissonance or an ardent admirer of Bartok and his contemporaries to enjoy this disc. And if you don't have an SACD player, but think you might get one in the future, this disc is worth the purchase now, as the CD layer is more than satisfactory.
Rating: - Must own SACD
While apparently there is at least one person on the planet who can listen to these amazing recordings and not be moved, the bulk of reviews here reflect what a profound treasure these sessions are. These recordings (along with the Fine Arts Quartet recordings of the Quartets) were my *virgin* exposure to Bartok. This was over 30 years ago in their vinyl incarnation, and on equipment that was far from *HiFi*. Yet it was life-changing music. Those vinyl copies were lost, and I spent years trying to recapture the magic of these pieces through various other recordings well into the CD age. Now the SACD format has given us a virtual sonic time machine, and the ability to hear these landmark recordings in all their original splendor. I did have the pleasure of hearing the Concerto For Orchestra performed live by the BSO, conducted by Seiji Ozawa, sometime in the early 80's (BSO centennial), but the Reiner rendition remains my most cherished.
Rating:  - tedious...
I just could not comprehend why many music lovers love Bartok--
his music might be intellectual, but to me it's boring!
Rating: - A Peerless Recording
I loved the previous issue of this recording, but this one is even clearer, which is some praise, since the previous issue was a brilliant pressing of a brilliant recording. I never tire of Reiner's performance.
There is no other recording of these pieces that approaches this one - absolutely none (not even Leinsdorf's version). Not only is this Reiner disc the best Bartok recording ever made, but it is one of the best classical recordings ever made... truly a desert island disc.
Only a cretin wouldn't buy this record. ;)
Rating: - dschlvr
What a great step up from the previous release.
There some details that have come out in this recording that I really enjoy.
In many ways, a truly revalatory recording.
A lover of Bartok should not be without it.
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