Search - Bela Bartok, Jeno Jando :: Bartók: Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2; Piano Quintet

Lesser-known Bartok but still great Bartok

11/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why I bought this disc: the price was right, and I love Bartok. I had never heard of the pieces, but "how bad could it be," etc. After listening: more like, "how great could it be!" By gum, Bartok's star keeps rising with me. Sometimes I feel he's scratching at the door labeled "Mozart": he throws around tons of musical ideas (esp. the Quintet), just like the Master himself. The performance is superb."

A great showcase of Bartok's early compositions

10/13/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A great oppurtunity for Bartok fans to experience a few oft forgotten gems of his early years. The Kodaly quartet seems to know their Bartok very well and, exerting their technical skills, do a good deal of justice to Bartok in their performance. They do fall a little off on the rhythm a few places, but the overall performance is very decent considering the challenge that these compositions put forth.The folk rhapsodies are charming, and similar themes based on them run throughout Bartok's career (heavily influenced by the folk music of his native area). They aren't as impressive as the more well-known Bartok pieces, but they are interesting to hear.The piano quintet is the real jewel on the crown. Its more developed than the other pieces and resembles, stylistically, the mature Bartok pieces we all know and love.I would recommend this to anyone interested in Bartok's music though it isn't essential to anyone's collection."

Rhapsodies

Paul Kimmel | East Brunswick, NJ | 02/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent CD at a very low price. Best are the rhapsodies: complex harmonies and rhythms -- music interspersed with folk-like Hungarian melodies. The rhapsodies are not well known. They are difficult to perform (I've done it on piano), but well worth listening to. The performances on this CD are excellent."