Concerto for Orchestra

Béla Bartók

Recordings

Top Choice

Antal Doráti / London Symphony Orchestra

Early 1960s

Prime recommendation. From a wonderful set. Excellent Mercury recording. Great interpretation, not just a showpiece, but also fleshes out the mysterious elements. A great introduction.

Label: Mercury Living Presence

Also Worth Hearing

Fritz Reiner / Chicago Symphony Orchestra

late 1950s

The old classic. Excellent RCA Living Stereo sound, spectacular playing. Could be a bit 'just-the-facts' and lacks some of the mystery Doráti finds, but still beautiful and exciting.

Label: RCA Living Stereo

Ferenc Fricsay / Berlin Radio Symphony

1957 Stereo recording.

For more interpretive insight. Fricsay was wonderful with dramatic pacing. Very intense, very dramatic, and does a great job setting the atmosphere.

Serge Koussevitzky / Boston Symphony Orchestra

1944 Live recording. Premiere performance. Uses the original ending, which Bartók later changed.

The premiere performance (live). Very exciting, wonderful atmosphere, and has a sense of new discovery and freshness. Sound takes tolerance (1944, live, noisy) but has good presence.