Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin; Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
The Miraculous Mandarin is, along with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, one of the great expressions of musical savagery, and here the composer illustrates the "urban jungle." The music opens with sounds of traffic and commotion, and it's an expressionist nightmare from that point on. Three men mug a woman and force her to lure men into their den to be robbed in turn. One of them turns out to be a wealthy Chinese man whose passion for the woman is so strong that, despite being stabbed, suffocated, and strung up on a lamp cord, he will not die until the woman permits him to embrace her. Then his wounds open and he bleeds to death. Quite a story, and the music, as well as this performance, suits it perfectly. Have fun. --David Hurwitz

Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin; Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta, Music, Bela Bartok, Pierre Boulez, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 20th/21st Century Ballet, 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral

Average customer rating:

ONE OF BARTOK'S MASTERPIECES.

Darkly Beautiful

Boulez and Bartok, a great combination

A Disk For People Who Dislike Music

Essential Bartok

Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin / Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Ballets & Dances | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra / 4 Orchestral Pieces - Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Boulez

Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince / Cantata Profana - John Aler / John Tomlinson / Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez

Béla Bartók: Divertimento / Dance Suite / Hungarian Sketches / Two Pictures - Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Boulez

Bartok: The Piano Concertos

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2; Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2

ASIN: B000001GR9
Release Date: 1996-04-09

Tracks:

The Miraculous Mandarian: 01 Beginning
The Miraculous Mandarian: 02 First seduction game: the shabby old rake
The Miraculous Mandarian: 03 Second seduction game
The Miraculous Mandarian: 04 Third seduction game
The Miraculous Mandarian: 05 The Mandarin enters and remains immobile in the doorway
The Miraculous Mandarian: 06 The girl sinks down to embrace him
The Miraculous Mandarian: 07 The tramps leap out, seize the Mandarin and tear him away from the girl
The Miraculous Mandarian: 08 Suddenly the Mandarin's head appears between the pillows and he looks longingly at the girl
The Miraculous Mandarian: 09 The terrified tramps discuss how they are to get red of the Mandarin at last
The Miraculous Mandarian: 10 The body of the Mandarin begins to glow with a greenish blue light
The Miraculous Mandarian: 11 She resists no longer, - they embrace
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Sz 106: 1 Andante tranquillo
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Sz 106: 2 Allegro
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Sz 106: 3 Adagio
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Sz 106: 4 Allegro molto

Amazon.com essential recording

The Miraculous Mandarin is, along with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, one of the great expressions of musical savagery, and here the composer illustrates the "urban jungle." The music opens with sounds of traffic and commotion, and it's an expressionist nightmare from that point on. Three men mug a woman and force her to lure men into their den to be robbed in turn. One of them turns out to be a wealthy Chinese man whose passion for the woman is so strong that, despite being stabbed, suffocated, and strung up on a lamp cord, he will not die until the woman permits him to embrace her. Then his wounds open and he bleeds to death. Quite a story, and the music, as well as this performance, suits it perfectly. Have fun. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

ONE OF BARTOK'S MASTERPIECES........2004-05-28

I think I'm kind of an idiot about classical music, so I can only make basic comments here. Music for Percussion, Strings, and Celesta is one of Bartok's greatest works, and as such is one of the greatest works in all of Western music. Despite the ostensible eminence the celesta is given in the title of the piece, the dominant keyboard instrument is piano, which is part of the percussion ensemble that serves as the anchor for two string sections. The piece is an amazing exploration of opposites, especially its use of chromatic and diatonic elements. The first movement is a chromatic fugue for strings, and Bartok's use of changing meters gives it a watery effect. From the first movement you can already tell it is one of Bartok's best compositions, simply because every note is so exceptionally placed and the flow is so natural. The second movement is an exhilarating allegro, a tight mesh of melodic themes manipulated with rhythmic and metric variation. The third movement is intensely chromatic "night music" with obscure tonality and fragmentary melodies. Best of all, the fourth movement, where diatonic considerations come to the fore and it is the most varied in rhythm, melody, and pitch, but still structurally sublime. Throughout the piece, the key subjects are changed into new subjects, which undergo their own changes, and eventually morphing back into previous themes. This is done with such uncanny perfection that the music really feels like it takes you places. I know that sounds cheesy. I won't discuss _The Miraculous Mandarin_, though it is very good as well.

Get this if you want to hear a divine performance of one of the musical universe's greatest treasures. (Sorry for the CAPS above, I know it's annoying.)

Darkly Beautiful.......2003-04-06

In response to one of the reviews posted here, I must disagree with the statement that Boulez's conducting makes these works "cynical, pedantic and profoundly ugly." But then, I've never heard the Leonard Bernstein version of The Miraculous Mandarin, so he may have a point (please note sarcasm).

These pieces are conducted in a very unromantic style that suits these works well in particular, and Bartok's entire output in general. There's nothing conventionally "pretty" at all about these works. But they are both truly beautiful, in a profoundly dark sense. The Miraculous Mandarin depicts the violence and the desperation of the story it is based upon, while the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta is possibly the greatest orchestral work of the twentieth-century. Vivaldi this is not.

Boulez and Bartok, a great combination.......2002-02-12

No one handle Bartok better in our time like Boulez (Fischer and Salonen runners up).

"Music for strings, percussion and celesta" is one of last centures greatest work and Boulez and Orchestra do this fantastic. The "The miraculous mandarin" is a bonus and also one of Bartoks greatest. Great sound too.

Buy this version and you have a (two) masterpiece (s).

A Disk For People Who Dislike Music.......2001-07-28

Maestro Boulez has a fantastic ear, good technique, and a formidable intellect. He has one slight impediment to conducting: he doesn't care for music very much. Or at least not music that embodies thought and feeling. Music for Strings is one of the most sublime testaments in Western music. The shattering climax of the first movement couldn't make Bartok's meaning plainer. But you'll never learn that from this perverse rendition. Boulez deliberately ignores the forceful accents, smoothing over them because he finds strong accents sentimental and stupid. The result is cynical, pedantic, and profoundly ugly. And the less said of this decidedly less than Miraculous Mandarin, the better. Any recording by a conductor who sympathizes with this music is preferable.

Essential Bartok.......2001-02-05

On this disc are two of Bartok's greatest works. The first, The Miraculous Mandarin, is one of his most violent and suggestive. It is very vivid music, painting a palpably clear orchestral picture of the sex and violence of Lengyel's scenario. This is Bartok at his best; blaring brass, screaming strings, pounding percussion. There are also many moments of extreme delicacy; the clarinet solo of the young woman seducing male passers-by, or the moment when the Mandarin's body begins to glow, heightened by a low, wordless chorus. The vivid orchestral storytelling of Mandarin is offset by one of Bartok's most abstract pieces, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. This is another Bartok masterpiece. Pierre Boulez conducts Bartok's music very well, and this is no exception. Due to the great quality of the playing, conducting, recording and the music itself, and the fact that there are so few complete Mandarins on the market, I would suggest you pick this one up as soon as possible.

Rafael Kubelik conducts Dvorák, Smetana, Mussorgsky, Bartók, Hindemith, Schoenberg

Average customer rating:

The Mussorgsky is a Delight
A nice collection of performances, but mixed sonics from 50 years ago
Kubelik's Classic MLP Recordings Are Back!

Rafael Kubelik conducts Dvorák, Smetana, Mussorgsky, Bartók, Hindemith, Schoenberg

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Antal Dorati Conducts
Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6
Bartok: Orchestral Works; Bluebeard's Castle
Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music

ASIN: B000A5DLPQ
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

I. Adagio-Allegro
II. Andante
III. Presto
I. Adagio-Allegro Molto
II. Largo
III. Scherzo: Molto Vivace
IV. Allegro Con Fuoco

Tracks:

The High Castle
The Moldau
Sarka
From Bohemia's Meadows And Forests
Tabor
Blanik

Tracks:

Promenade
Gnomus
Promenade
Il Vecchio Castello
Promenade
Tuileries
Bydlo
Promenade
Ballet Des Poussins Dans Leurs Coques
Samuel Goldenberg Und Schmuyle
Limoges-Le Marche
Catacombae (Sepulchrum Romanum)
Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua
La Cabane Sur Des Pattes De Poule
La Grande Porte De Kiev
I. Andante Tranquillo - Irwin Fischer
II. Allegro - Irwin Fischer
III. Adagio - Irwin Fischer
IV. Allegro Molto - Irwin Fischer

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Turandot: Scherzo
III. Andantino
IV. Marsch
I. Premonitions
II. Yesteryears
III. Summer Morning By A Lake
IV. Peripetia
V. The Obbligato Recitative
Variations On A Hungarian Folksong 'The Peacock' - Antal Dorati
Suite From 'The Miraculous Mandarin' - Antal Dorati

Customer Reviews:

The Mussorgsky is a Delight .......2006-10-26

I am not an "audio expert", but I do know what I like. And I love this CD. I heard this recording of Mussorgksy's "Pictures From an Exhibition" on an NPR program from The Chicago Symphony. I was very taken with the clarity of sound. I searched for the recording through Amazon and I am absolutely delighted. It is a four dsic set, but I haven't gone on to the other recordings (yet) becasue I keep re-playing this lovely piece. I hope you enjoy it.

A nice collection of performances, but mixed sonics from 50 years ago.......2006-06-01

Audiophiles adore the Mercury Living Presence series issued throughout the early Fifties and Sixties, but for those of us who aren't specialty collectors, it's pretty clear that not evreything on MLP is a gem. This valuable colleciton (mono only) from the doomed tenure of Rafael Kubelik with the Chicago Sym.--he lasted only a few years before the local critic's stinging rebukes sent Kubelik packing in favor of Fritz Reiner--deserves detailed appraisal.

CD 1: Kubelik was a lively, stylish Mozartean, and this 1953 Sym. #38 is quite lovely. It's more streamlined than Walter's recordings of the "Prague," but cut form the same affectionate cloth. The recording, however, is thin and shrill. I found it uncomfortable to listen to except at low volume.

Kubelik recorded Dvorak's "New World" musltiple times; this Chicago reading dates from 1951 and is caught in sharp mono sonics with a bit too much stinging treble for my ears. Even so, there are those who think this lively, rather lean performance is one of Kubelik's best. I'm not sure that it's so special that one should do without stereo, but the choice is personal. The CSO plays superbly, and the general contour of the interpretation is straightforward.

CD 2 is entirely given over to Smetana's Ma Vlast, another Kubelik specialty that he recorded multiple times. This 1952 recording sounds identical to the Dvorak on CD 1--a deep soundstage with lots of dynamic range. The interpretation is essentially moderate and unexaggerated. It's certainly stylish and has real sweep, too. In terms of dramatic impact CD 2 is far ahead of CD 1.

CD 3: Curiously, there are audiophile purists who insist that the Golden Age of 50's mono produced better sound than any current digital recording. If that's a viable position (few outside the cult agree), the works on this CD are prime evidence. Kubelik's Pictures at an Exhibition and Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta were recorded in the spring of 1951. They are vivid and colorful, with tangy wind choirs and plenty of dynamic impact. Kubelik proves a restless, almost nervous interpreter of the Mussorgsky, which refreshes this warhose. Neither the recording nor the CSO's playing really matches the later, legendary RCA performance under Reiner, but Kubelik's reading has more sinew and rhythmic spring to it. He brings the same qualities to the Bartok, which gets a wiry "modernist" interpretation that's very appealing, less offical-sounding than the famous Reiner account.

CD 4: At the start of this CD we are back to the thin sound of CD 1 (both were recorded in 1953 with the same Telefunken 201 micropone). For some reason, however, this disc can be played at louder volume without treble sting. Kubelik's Hindemith Symphonic Meatmorphoses is lean and propulsive. This is a refreshing take, but without gorgeous stereo sound the coloristic aspects of this showpiece can't be fully apreciated.

Being too much of a modernist was a prime factor in getting Kubelik fired, which is all the more unfair because his Schoenberg Five Pieces for Orchestra is a standout, almost the performance of a lifetime. I hope somebody in the conservative Chicago audience appreciated how seductive and witty this performance was; if Schoenerg's masterpiece has ever sounded more like Daphnis and Chloe, I don't know when.

The last two works were recorded in 1954, at the tail end of Kubelik's stay, and the sound remains a bit shrieky. But his itnerpretations of Kodaly's Peacock Variations and Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin Suite are excellent, full of energy and fierceness in the Bartok, making it as scary as the composer intended. Playing the shrill mono recording at full volume is impossibly masochistic on the ears, but the reading is terrific.

Chicago was lucky--they exchanged a near-great conductor for a great one. Mercury, however, lost the best conductor it would ever have, moving on to Dorati and Paray and even more audiophile cult delights.

Kubelik's Classic MLP Recordings Are Back!.......2005-09-14

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing, and while the single disc titles are unfortunately listed at full-price, it is wonderful to see the various multi-disc sets basically being sold at budget line. With this 4CD reissue, Rafael Kubelik's legendary recordings with the Chicago Symphony are restored to the catalog, as only his 1952 rendition of Smetana's "Ma Vlast" was currently in print. (Please note that the performances of Kodaly's "Peacock Variations" and Bartok's "Miraculous Mandarin" Suite are with Antal Dorati leading the same orchestra.) To illustrate how prized these recordings are by collectors, the extremely rare original CD issue coupling the Moussorgsky/Ravel "Pictures at an Exhibition" with Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta" has been known to fetch twice the price of this new set in the Amazon Marketplace! Buying this collection for the Pictures performance alone is worthwhile, as it was the recording that led a critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the Mercury named its series. Of course getting memorable accounts of Dvorak's 9th and Mozart's 38th Symphonies, Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis" and Schoenberg's Five Pieces, Op. 16 is just icing on the cake. Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

Bartok Works for Orchestra - Concerto for Orchestra; Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

Average customer rating:

Excellent Bartók starter

Bartok Works for Orchestra - Concerto for Orchestra; Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000001K6A
Release Date: 1992-11-04

Tracks:

Concerto For Orchestra: Introduction: Allegro non troppo
Concerto For Orchestra: Giuoco delle Coppie: Allegretto scherzando
Concerto For Orchestra: Elegia: Andante non troppo
Concerto For Orchestra: Intermezzo interrotto: Allegretto
Concerto For Orchestra: Finale: Presto
Dance Suite: Moderato
Dance Suite: Allegro molto
Dance Suite: Allegro vivace
Dance Suite: Molto tranquillo
Dance Suite: Commodo

Tracks:

Suite From 'The Miraculous Mandarin': The Robbers - B. Bartok
Suite From 'The Miraculous Mandarin': The Girl - B. Bartok
The Mandarin - B. Bartok
Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta: Andante tranquillo - B. Bartok
Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta: Allegro - B. Bartok
Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta: Adagio - B. Bartok
Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta: Allegro molto - B. Bartok

Tracks:

Divertimento For String Orchestra: Allegro non troppo
Divertimento For String Orchestra: Molto adagio
Divertimento For String Orchestra: Allegro assai
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: Prelude
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: Dance Of The Princess In The Forest
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: Dance Of The Trees
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: Dance Of The Waves
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: The Prince And His Wooden Doll
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: Dance Of The Princess With The Wooden Doll
Suite From 'The Wooden Prince', Op.13: Postlude

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Bartók starter.......2002-01-04

Although at least some of the pieces on this album have better versions available, notably the poerful interprettions of Iván Fisher, there are also far worse, and this isn't one without character. As an introduction to the work of Béla Bartók, it's a must have. The inexpensive 3-disc set is a regular shelf item at B&N. Skrowaczewski's interpretation of Concerto for Orchestra brings out its quirks much more effectively that Dorati's better-known version, and is worth hearing even if you have Fisher's more recent recording (Fisher made two). Some of the other works are reduced to suites, but these edits are common, and I believe done by Bartók himself. I can comfortably say that, unlike some inexpensive Bartók recordings, that if you don't like this album, you probably won't like the better versions that are out there, and if you do like this album, you'll continue to listen to it even if you do get some of the better ones.

Average customer rating:

a very welcome anthology for modest price
Bartok and Kodaly in hungarian style

Bartók for Orchestra

Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music

Grieg: Complete Music with Orchestra
Mendelssohn: 5 Symphonies; 7 Overtures

ASIN: B0000037B0
Release Date: 1997-10-07

Tracks:

The Wooden Prince: Ste, Op.13: Vorspiel-Die Prinzessin
The Wooden Prince: Ste, Op.13: Der Wald
The Wooden Prince: Ste, Op.13: Arbeitslied Der Prinzen
The Wooden Prince: Ste, Op.13: Der Bach
The Wooden Prince: Ste, Op.13: Tanz Des Holzgeschnitzien Prinzen-Nachapiel
Two Portraits, Op.5: I. One Ideal
Two Portraits, Op.5: II. One Grotesque

Tracks:

Music: I. Andante Tranquillo
Music: II. Allegro
Music: III. Adagio
Music: IV. Allegro Molto
Diver: I. Allegro Non Troppo
Diver: II. Molto Adagio
Divert: III. Allegro Assai

Tracks:

Vn Con No.1 (Op. Posth.): I. Andante Sostenuto
Vn Con No.1 (Op. Posth.): II. Allegro Giocoso
Vn Con No.2: I. Allegro Non Troppo
Vn Con No.2: II. Andante Tranquillo
Vn Con No.2: III. Allegro Molto

Tracks:

Romanian Folk Dances: I. The Stick Dance
Romanian Folk Dances: II. Round Dance
Romanian Folk Dances: III. In One Spot
Romanian Folk Dances: IV. The Horn Dance
Romanian Folk Dances: V. Romanian Polka
Romanian Folk Dances: VI. Short And Sweet
Romanian Folk Dances: VII. Short And Sweet
Dance Ste: I. Moderato
Dance Ste: II. Allegro Molto
Dance Ste: III. Allegro Vivace
Dance Ste: IV. Molto Tranquillo
Dance Ste: V. Comodo
Dance Ste: VI. Finale: Allegro
Hungarian Pictures: I. Evening In Transylvania
Hungarian Pictures: II. Bear Dance
Hungarian Pictures: III. Melody
Hungarian Pictures: IV. A Bit Tipsy
Hungarian Pictures: V. Urog Swineherd Dance
Two Pictures: I. In Full Bloom
Two Pictures: II. Village Dance
Romanian Dance: Allegro Vivace

Tracks:

Con: I. Intro: Andante Non Troppo-Allegro
Con: II. Giuoco Delle Coppie: Allegretto Scherzando
Con: III. Elegia: Andante, Non Troppo
Con: IV. Intermezzo Interrotto: Allegretto
Con: V. Finale: Pesante-Presto
The Miraculous Mandarin: Ste

Tracks:

Hary Janos: Ste: Prld/The Fairy/Tale Begins
Hary Janos: Ste: Viennese Musical Clock
Hary Janos: Ste: Song
Hary Janos: Ste: Battle And Defeat Of Napoleon
Hary Janos: Ste: Intermezzo
Hary Janos: Ste: Entrance Of The Emperor And His Court
Dances Of Galanta
Vars On A Hungarian Folksong (The Peacock)

Amazon.com

Some people are frightened by the (mostly) 20th century Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. His colorful orchestration and by turns folksy and angular rhythms and melodies seem to be cut from very exotic cloth. But there's nothing to fear--this six-CD set presents his most popular orchestral music played with authentic flair by the Hungarian State Orchestra: the two violin concerti with the excellent soloist Gerhart Hetzel, the suite from his ballet The Wooden Prince, the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, the Concerto for Orchestra, and several other flavorful works. As a bonus, three pieces by his compatriot, Zoltán Kodály are included. A fine introduction to a master composer. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

a very welcome anthology for modest price.......2001-01-06

For many classical music lovers who are not specialists in Hungarian music - and I would count myself among them - this collection of Bartok's orchestral works along with a supplemental Kodaly disc at budget price cannot be too strongly welcomed. The Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra plays with rhythmic finesse and considerable virtuoso skill, and the direction of Adam Fischer is very fine. I will not attempt a comparison between his performances and those of Janos Ferencsik and Arpad Joo among others. The documentation is brief but well written. CD 1 has a playing time of only 39:25, but that should not seriously deter anybody. The tracking and cueing is excellent, as is the digital stereo sound. The reproduction of the painting "Preparing the meal in the wood" by A. Fenyes on the cover is very tasteful. Overall, this is a very satisfying issue.

Bartok and Kodaly in hungarian style.......2000-06-15

This 6 cd box is a very good one if you are looking for a essential Bartok, as a gift you get Kodaly too. Bartok is a master of taking folk songs and translated them to the finest classical music. The quality of recording is very good and we can imagine that the interpretation is accurate since the players are hungarians. There is a tenderness in the orchestra under Mr. Fischer that bring us a light and elegant Bartok instead of a rough one, as we can expect from folkloric music. The Romanian Folk Dances are amazing and you can imagine people dancing in the country. But the best in this collection are the violin concertos. Since I bought this box I listen the concertos many times and it is always a pleasure for soul.

Average customer rating:

A One-of-a-Kind "Mandarin" from Dorati
Bartok, Dorati, And Motown

Bartok: Miraculous Mandarin

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Customer Reviews:

A One-of-a-Kind "Mandarin" from Dorati.......2006-05-06

This disc contains a very good "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta," though better ones can be had. Essentially, it's let down somewhat by a too-genteel rendition of the "Bulgarian" four movement, which should zip along in Allegro barbaro fashion--at least the best performances of the work, such as Reiner's classic one, do. There's also a gratuitous ritard right before the final cadence, a small point, perhaps, but it really puts a damper on things.

That said, Dorati brings much understanding and feeling to the other three movements, so his performance is by no means negligible. Still, the reason to get this disc is Dorati's performance of the complete "Miraculous Mandarin" ballet. No recording that I've heard has ever captured so fully the savagery, the luridness, and the studied sleaziness of this incredible score. (Boulez's well-regarded version is too sleek, too streamlined for its own good.) From the wild street music that begins the piece to the pathetic close with the death of the Mandarin, this is a performance that makes every gesture come alive without undo underscoring. Who needs to underscore the points, when Bartok supplies some of the most vividly scored and propulsive music written in the 20th century? If you know this work only as a suite, you really need to acquaint yourself with this performance. To hear what the organ (here, thrillingly recorded) and wordless chorus bring to the music is worth more than the price of the admission. That organ part, by the way, makes this a "Phantom of the Opera" for the thinking music lover. When you hear the organ bellowing away under the street music at the beginning of Bartok's score, you'll probably chuckle to remember how vapid and jejune the organ bits are in Lloyd Webber's junk heap of a musical.

Well, I'm sorry to have stooped to making invidious comparisons. No need. Just know that Dorati's Mandarin is a one-of-a-kind reading, with breathtakingly real and detailed sound from London to boot.

Bartok, Dorati, And Motown.......2003-06-26

Bela Bartok was indisputably one of the 20th century's greatest composers; and his very modern approach, leavened with the rhythms of his native Hungary's folk music, are to be found on this recording that pairs his complete 1924 ballet "The Miraculous Mandarin" with his 1936 "Music For Strings, Percussion, & Celesta."

Both scores are superbly performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in this recording made in November 1983 under their Conductor Laureate, Antal Dorati. Dorati, very much a specialist in 20th century music, and like Bartok a Hungarian, brings out the best in Bartok. Listening to "Mandarin", it is easy to see why this ballet, with its horrific scenario involving murder, caused such consternation in its first performance in Cologne, Germany in 1926.

As for "Music For Strings, Percussion, And Celesta", again, Dorati and his Detroit Symphony bring out the best in this masterful piece. This is especially true in the work's celebrated third movement (Adagio), which director Stanley Kubrick masterfully used for his 1980 horror masterpiece THE SHINING. It is a brilliant piece of modernism combined with Hungarian folk rhythms.

Tracks:

The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Allegro - Curtain
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: First Decoy Game: Moderato
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Second Decoy Game
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Third Decoy Game (Sostenuto)
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Maestoso
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Allegro
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Sempre vivo
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Adagio
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Agitato
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Molto moderato
The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Piu mosso
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celesta: I. Andante tranquillo
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celesta: II. Allegro
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celesta: III. Adagio
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celesta: IV. Allegro molto
Hungarian Sketches: I. An Evening In The Village: Lento Rubato
Hungarian Sketches: II. Bear Dance: Allegro vivace
Hungarian Sketches: III. Melody: Andante
Hungarian Sketches: IV. Slightly Tipsy: Allegretto rubato
Hungarian Sketches: V. Swineherd's Dance: Allegro molto

Tracks:

Rhapsody For Piano And Orchestra, Op. 1 - Bela Bartok
Suite No. 1, Op. 3: I. Allegro vivace - Bela Bartok
Suite No. 1, Op. 3: II. Poco adagio - Bela Bartok
Suite No. 1, Op. 3: III. Presto - Bela Bartok
Suite No. 1, Op. 3: IV. Moderato - Bela Bartok
Suite No. 1, Op. 3: V. Molto vivace - Bela Bartok
Two Pictures, Op. 10: I. In Full Flower - Bela Bartok
Two Pictures, Op. 10: II. Village Dance - Bela Bartok

Customer Reviews:

Bartok--Young and Old .......2007-03-31

This disc brilliantly contrasts the mature, maverick Bartok with the younger, more traditional (but no less inspired) composer. Surprisingly, the earlier works hold up quite well, and still bear Bartok's distinct stamp and color--which is certainly not the case for many great composers (Stravinsky's early symphony, for example). Dorati is among the greatest interpreters of Bartok's music, and his version of the Mandarin is astounding, as expected. Full of fire, atmosphere, and passages of eerie beauty. His Music for Percussion and Strings is also amazing, though I actually prefer his version on Mercury with the London SO (coupled with his rare ballet, The Wooden Prince--better sound, too). But this is a small quibble, and the performance is spirited and inspired.

But I feel I really have to pitch the two largely unknown early works, the Rhapsody for Piano & Orch., Op.1 and the Suite No.1 for Orchestra, Op.3. The Rhapsody is a pungent, virtuostic piece, somewhat similar to Strauss' early Burleske, though with a more Hungarian lilt to it. It also complements his Violin Rhapsodies, though this piece is more squarely in the tradition of Liszt, Dohnanyi, and Kodaly. Why this is not more performed I will never know--it would be a sure crowd pleaser (particularly for those who are unfamiliar and unenthusiastic about his idiom).

However, my favorite piece of all is the remarkably inventive Suite, which overflows with Romantic Nationalism in a vein that skirts Dvorak and the Russians, though sounds nothing at all like them. The first movement opens up with a Straussian march, heroic, even a bit pompous, though orchestrated with glitter and fireworks. The second movement is all grim, Hungarian atmosphere, and indeed, the ominous drumbeat with muffled trumpets is quoted in the Concerto for Orchestra so many years later (or so I believe, maybe he didn't mean it?). Indeed, this piece is itself a kind of Concerto for Orchestra, as the orchestra is kept very busy embellishing his folk-like melodies. A dashing scherzo follows, and then a haunting slow movement which again sounds very nationalistic, a kind of piece Bartok would never write again. Even less Bartokian is the festive finale, which sounds a lot like Smetana--though it's completely captivating in its own, derivative way. In short, the Suite is a work of genius, if a slightly immature one; but that doesn't stop me from listening to it over and over again. Sadly, I don't have a recording of his Second Orchestral Suite...is there a Dorati version floating around somewhere?

The disc concludes with the most haunting, atmospheric, intense account of the oft-recorded Two Pictures, Op.10 I have ever heard. The sheer longing of the opening melody is almost unbearable. I also love how Dorati brings out the Debussyian sheen of the orchestra in this piece. We hear Bartok's distinct voice for the first time in the second "picture," which smacks of the sardonic humor of the Mandarin.

A wonderful, bargain of a disc that should not be missed, no matter how many Mandarins you have in your collection.

Astounding performances and rich in its selections.......2006-04-17

There is no doubt that from start to finish, on both CD's
(there are 2) every performance is extremely strong
and the audio is incredible.

The weak spot, of this release, however, is the lack
of continuity between the numbers, considering that
some of them are very differnet from each other,
such as from one composition to the next, there is
a noticeable change in mood, and musical point of view,
which distracts from the enjoyment experience.

As such, my pick on this set is unquestionable the
"Miraculous Mandarin" which is incredible in the skill
shown by the musicians and by the man leading the group
in playing and showing a cohesive musical message.

The loudness of "Miraculous Mandarin" slams the listener
like a hurricane that's never been felt before....which
is an experience that most music fans will have difficulty
achieving anywhere else.

The other pieces, on their own, are simply perfect and
gems that only the composer's, the genius Bela Bartok,
could have crafted.

Astonishing value!.......2006-03-09

If I wanted to represent Bartok in my classical CD collection with multiple popular works, this would be my CD of choice. A two-CD set, these well-known Bartok compositions are perfectly rendered. Add to that fact that the engineering/sound is just great and there you have it.

I'll let you do your own researching about the composer and his respective works but I will say that there's not a bad cut on either CD of this set. There is a mixing of three different orchestras and conductors on this recording but they all mesh right in, all superb.

What more can I say? It's an awesome set -- buy it!

Bartok: Orchestral Works; Bluebeard's Castle

Average customer rating:

Dorati's MLP Bartok is Back

Bartok: Orchestral Works; Bluebeard's Castle

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Antal Dorati Conducts
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6
Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks
Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music
Howard Hanson Conducts Howard Hanson

ASIN: B00035VV78
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

Dorati's MLP Bartok is Back.......2005-06-08

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing as SACD hybrids. However, they are unfortunately now being sold at full-price, despite a competing Living Stereo hybrid series on RCA/BMG being available at midline. In spite of the added expense, I hope this MLP reissue trend will continue, and maybe we'll even see a few items receiving their CD debut in this series.

These Bartok performances by the great Antal Dorati are nothing short of definitive, and have always been among my favorite MLP offerings. While three of these recordings continue to be available in their original CD incarnations -- the Violin Concerto with Menuhin, Miraculous Mandarin and Wooden Prince discs -- the remaining two discs of material have been out-of-print for some time. However, with this box set Dorati's classic Concerto for Orchestra, and Bluebeard's Castle albums are deservedly restored to the catalog. Even better is the fact that the 5CD box sets being reissued have been reasonably priced, however they are not SACD Hybrids. This set and three others (see my reviews) have a total cost cheaper than the original single issue CDs! Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

Bartók: Music For Strings/Divertimento/Miraculous Mandarin

Average customer rating:

Bartók: Music For Strings/Divertimento/Miraculous Mandarin

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Rückblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music

Average customer rating:

BUT WHY?
Great Recordings
A must for lovers of modern music

Rückblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music

Manufacturer: Col Legno
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000038IDI
Release Date: 1999-11-15

Amazon.com

It starts, appropriately enough, with Charles Ives's The Unanswered Question, which seems to hold its breath, and occasionally exhale in brief bursts of panic, as the new century unfolds. It ends with Dmitri Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony Op. 110a (based on his String Quartet No. 8), whose alternating sequences of anguish, alarm, and derision come as close as possible for absolute music to indicting its bloody history--eight CDs and over 30 works later.

Rückblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music represents as fine a look back at musical modernism as you're likely to get. And in what a lavish package! A tall box holding two multi-CD jewel boxes and a beautifully printed booklet with photographs of modern and postmodern architecture and extensive liner notes (in German). Even the CDs themselves look handsome. All the more amazing when you realize that the entire set was digitally recorded live--with coughs, turning pages, chair creaks, and vivid sound--during one week in 1998 in Stuttgart (where, it seems, you have to travel nowadays even to hear about this kind of music), by such groups as the RSO Saarbrücken and the Bamberger Symphoniker, led by Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Gielen, Heinz Holliger, and other risk takers. Each CD has been programmed around a theme; for example, "Explosion/Implosion" (featuring Varèse and Mahler's tone poem Totenfeier, later becoming the first movement of his Second Symphony) and "Minimal Postludien," which includes (heads up, completists) Philip Glass's Echorus for two solo violins and string orchestra and Ligeti's Ramifications. Stravinsky, who, like Schoenberg and Cage, appears to cast a long shadow over this imposing collection, remains one of the highlights: a sharp, fiercely erotic performance of Le Sacre by Lothar Zagrosek and the Stattsorchester Stuttgart that helps remind us how much modern music has done, in the face of controversy and disaster, to ground us in our humanity. --Robert Burns Neveldine

Customer Reviews:

BUT WHY?.......2002-05-15

At eight cds, this could have been a hefty set of 20th century orchestral music. But somewhere along the line, around the beginning of planning the festival I'm guessing, something went horribly wrong. There were eight concerts, each with a theme. The pieces chosen have often only a tenuous connection with the theme, if any. There are no women composers. There are no composers from Romania. There are no composers from the Czech Republic. There are no composers from Poland. That means no Gubuidulina, no Ana-Marie Avram, no Joan Tower. That means no Dumitrescu or Janacek or Lutoslawski. Can you believe it? A collection of twentieth century orchestral music with no Lutoslawski? Verily it boggleth the mind.

But so what? Are the pieces they did play well played? Well, sometimes. Gielen and Zender get predictably excellent results. But much of the rest sounds for all the world like first reads. Extremely sensitive and polished first reads to be sure, but no sense of piece qua piece, a thing with a shape from start to finish. (This is most apparent in the eccentric phrasing.) These are not the newer pieces, either, but Ives and Ravel and Bartok and Stravinsky. You know these people have played these pieces dozens of times. No excuse.

It's hard to fault a company (Col legno) that puts out so many fine performances of the likes of Helmut Lachenmann, but in this venture I really think they dropped the ball.

Great Recordings.......2000-12-30

I wish I could read in German! This is the only "flaw" of this edition, in my opinion: it seems to have a great booklet, but I can't read it. Otherwise, it is a great collection: excelent recordings, good choice of works. I find it an excelent intro to modern music.

A must for lovers of modern music.......2000-06-26

This 8 CD collection contains a wonderfully diverse selection of works that trace the development of music through the century. This set contains music form the pivotal artists from the beginning of the century; Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, Debussy, Bartok, Ives and Varese. Master from later in the century include; Messiaen, Carter, Boulez, Cage, Feldman, Kurtag, Schnittke, Glass, and Ligeti. From the late romanticism of Mahler, to the impressionism of Ravel and Debussy, the atonality of the Second Viennese, the neo-styles of Stravinsky, Kurtag, Schostakovich, and Schnittke, to the minimalism of Glass, this collection has it all. Also within this collection are some classic compositions by lesser known masters such as; Maderna, Nono, Kagel. Rihm, Zimmerman, Furrer, and Lachenmann to name a few. Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Gielen, Heinze Holliger, and Hans Zender conduct superb performances of most of these classics. There is much to cherich in this collection, and are many treasures to be discovered.

Bartok: Music Sz106; Dance Suite for orchestra No1-6

Average customer rating:

Bartok: Music Sz106; Dance Suite for orchestra No1-6

Manufacturer: Capriccio
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

The Miraculous Mandarin: Conc Ste From The Dancepantomime Of The Same Name, Sz 73
Dance Ste Sz 77: 1. Moderato - Ritornello: Tranquillo
Dance Ste Sz 77: 2. Allegro Molto - Ritornello: Tranquillo
Dance Ste Sz 77: 3. Allegro Vivace
Dance Ste Sz 77: 4. Molto Tranquillo - Ritornello: Lento
Dance Ste Sz 77: 5. Comodo
Dance Ste Sz 77: 6. Finale: Allegro - Ritornello: Molto Tranquillo - Allegretto
Music: 1. Andante Tranquillo
Music: 2. Allegro
Music: 3. Adagio
Music: 4. Allegro Molto

Music Review:

Music Review

The 7th Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, March 2000

Nashville Sessions [Import]

Transatlantik Lounging, Vol. 2 [Import]

The Sounds of Source - Volume Two

Street Life [Original recording remastered] [Import]

The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner

Tossing Seeds [Import]

Ultimate Christmas [Import]

The Opportune Time

Serie Retretos [Limited Edition] [Import]

Walk Like a Soldier [Explicit Lyrics]

The 5 Browns

Original Bird: The Best of Bird on Savoy