Béla Bartók - The Wooden Prince; Cantata Profana (Pierre Boulez)

Information

Composer: Béla Bartók

1. (01) Cantata Profana, BB. 100, Sz. 94 - "The Nine Splendid Stags"
2. (04) The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op. 13)

John Aler, tenor (1-3)
John Tomlinson, baritone (1-3)

Chicago Symphony Chorus (1-3) & Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, conductor

Date: 1992
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4358632

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

Review

A disc to rank alongside other Chicago Bartok classics, such as Dorati's mono The miraculous mandarin Suite (Mercury, 2/55—nla) and Reiner's Concerto for Orchestra and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (RCA, 1/90). The reasons? Partly performance and recording, partly repertoire. The repertoire hook is Bartok's parable of fathers, sons and fleeing the nest, his 1930 Cantata profana, a mesmerizing, symmetrically designed masterpiece, where words and music are forged into an action-packed 18 minutes. Boulez provides what is by far the best studio recording the work has ever had (it's also the first in digital sound), more poetic, pungent and forceful than either Ferencsik (Hungaroton) or the old, English-language Susskind LP version (Bartok Recording Studio—nla), and truly state-of-the-art in terms of sound. Boulez is able to command a shimmering hushed pp (try the tenors' first entry, 1'04'' into the opening), yet the battle-hardy Allegro molto (3'30'' in) with its hectoring syncopations and warlike percussion, is full of grit and muscle. John Aler is wonderfully adroit with Bartok's high-flying solo tenor line (although he can't quite match the sweet yet disquieting Jozsef Reti for Ferencsik); John Tomlinson sounds like an authentic Magyar, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus egg the proceedings on with tireless zeal.

Turn then to The wooden prince and you confront the final flowering of Bartok's post-romantic phase, it's an effulgent, exotic piece, full of wistful, melancholy wind solos (clarinet and saxophone figure prominently) and billowing, heavily-scored climaxes. How astonishing to reflect that it was written after the composer's trail-blazing opera, Bluebeard's Castle. Here Boulez prompts memories of his younger self (from 1975, to be exact—an CBS, 3/89—nla) with the New York Philharmonic, but the newer version is both more genial and vastly better recorded. Again, the soft music is wonderfully atmospheric: the ppp muted violins in the Prelude have a ghostly pallor that is so typical of this orchestra's quiet string playing, yet when all are engaged at full throttle, the effect is shattering. Detail is legion throughout: the basses, brass and drums have immense presence (the ''Dance of the Trees'' issues an ominous growl), there's plenty of percussion glitter in the chirpy ''Dance of the Princess with the wooden prince'' and work's lyrical close is beautifully blended. Jarvi and the Philharmonia (Chandos) are also very good, if rather more reverberantly recorded, perhaps Jarvi is the more unbuttoned in the livelier dances, the less minutely observant of the waves and trees. However, it is Boulez who achieves the greater precision overall, and whose work receives the more impressive (and resonant) sound.

Jarvi's Wooden prince is coupled with the pleasant if comparatively inconsequential Hungarian Sketches, a fair choice given his friendlier view of the main work. But Boulez's coupling is, as I have suggested, the best reason for rushing out and purchasing his disc: it is an indisputable masterpiece, and one that should be in every self-respecting collection of twentieth-century musical landmarks. Why isn't it played and recorded more often?

-- Rob Cowan, Gramophone

More reviews:

BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****

http://www.amazon.com/Bart%C3%B3k-Wooden-Prince-Cantata-Profana/dp/B000001GGY

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

Béla Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and an ethnomusicologist. Bartók is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers. Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of comparative musicology, which later became ethnomusicology. Bartók's music reflects two trends that dramatically changed the sound of music in the 20th century: the breakdown of the diatonic system of harmony, and the revival of nationalism as a source for musical inspiration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Bart%C3%B3k

***

Pierre Boulez (26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor, writer and organiser of institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of the post-war classical music world. His compositions include pieces regarded by many as landmarks of twentieth-century music, such as Le Marteau sans maître, Pli selon pli and Répons. In a long conducting career Boulez held the posts at the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and was guest conductor with the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. He was particularly known for his performances of the music of the first half of the twentieth-century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Boulez

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

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!