CD Bartok: Box Set, Solti/CSO

“It is a sound such as I have never heard reproduced before . . . they have an authentic Hungarian bite and point which, alongside Chicago virtuosity, is unbeatable.” — Gramophone

Sir Georg Solti was a musician of extraordinarily wide musical interests and sympathies – no doubt one of the most important conductors of the second half of the twentieth century. His legacy is immortalized in hundreds of albums, including the works of Bela Bartok presented here. Recorded over a span of forty years with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Budapest Festival Orchestra, these recordings demonstrate Solti’s dedication to his Hungarian roots and his affinity for the music of his fatherland.

Sir Georg Solti was an exclusive Decca recording artist from 1947 until his death in 1997.

Contents: 

Disc 1:

Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116

Dance Suite, Sz. 77

Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, Sz. 106

Disc 2:

The Miraculous Mandarin Suite, BB 82, Sz. 73 (Op. 19)

Divertimento for Strings, Sz. 113

Hungarian Sketches, Sz. 97

Romanian Folk Dances for Orchestra, Sz. 68

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Cantata Profana, BB 100, Sz. 94, "The Nine Splendid Stags"

Tamas Daroczy (tenor)
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Choir of Hungarian Radio and TV

Disc 3:

Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91, Sz. 83

Piano Concerto No. 2, BB 101, Sz. 95

Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127, Sz. 119

Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Disc 4:

Violin Concerto No. 1, Sz. 36

Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz. 112

Kyung Wha Chung (violin)
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Disc 5:

Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48

Kolos Kováts (bass)
Sylvia Sass (soprano)
Istvan Sztankay (narrator)
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Disc 6:

Zoltán Kodály, Galántai táncok (Dances of Galánta)

Zoltán Kodály, Variations on a Hungarian Folk Song for Orchestra, "The Peacock"

Zoltán Kodály, Háry János Suite

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Leó Weiner - Serenade for small orchestra, Op. 3

Budapest Festival Orchestra

Disc 7:

Dance Suite, Sz. 77

Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, Sz. 106

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Zoltán Kodály, Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13 (English Translation)

William McAlpine (tenor)
London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir

Leó Weiner, Prinz Csongor und die Kobolde (Introduction & Scherzo), Op.10

Sir Georg Solti (conductor)