If the ability of a performance to raise the hair on your arms and the nape of your neck is one measure of its success, Alsop’s with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra succeeds brilliantly. But the rhythmic precision and motor drive achieved in the work’s two Allegro movements are also thrilling. This is a great Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, no doubt about it.

If you are seeking full, rich, and warm sounding Bartók, with glorious string tone, look no further than this beautifully played, Westernized performance of the Concerto for Orchestra. What hits you first is that string tone, which is rich, dark, and full-bodied. The interpretation is full-textured and mostly moderate (never really slow) in tempo…it has a point of view and is not just a sound bath. Right from the opening, which is slow, creepy, and smooth…everything flows richly, like a broad river, including the well-rounded brass fugue.

Alsop’s Bartók Concerto for Orchestra is epic in character, as it should be…Alsop makes a strong case for her way with this work, presenting the music in a fairly straightforward fashion, allowing the colorful Bartók instrumentation and varying moods to carry the listener along.

The first movement is mysterious and folkish, while the second is humorous but with a solemn middle section. The third movement is very dark, but followed by a brief light intermezzo that also parodies the Shostakovich Seventh, an enormously popular symphony during the war which Bartók very much disliked. The finale is epic and triumphant. All of these qualities emerge strongly in Alsop’s well played and well recorded effort here…

I’ve said before that at one time the very name of Bartók would have caused me to believe I wouldn’t like the music in the same way that some people believe that there are certain foodstuffs that they won’t like though they’ve never tried them. If there are any people who feel that way then the Concerto for Orchestra is without a doubt the best way to conquer that feeling. It is the most wonderfully musical piece with exciting melodies, especially the folk-inspired third movement in which Bartók exploits his unique facility with using folk tunes which he introduced into so many of his works. If there are people who also believe that he was not a composer that could ‘let his hair down’ then the fourth movement should dispel that idea with its witty parody of the most infamous section of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. It is a work of contrasts from its severe opening to the joyful nature of the final two movements that showcases his brilliant writing for all sections of the orchestra. It is a hugely exciting work that repays frequent listening as there are always new aspects to discover within it. This muscular and thrilling recording amply demonstrates why Marin Alsop is such a sought after conductor and why the Baltimore Symphony is so highly thought of all over the world.

Once again with Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta we have another example of Bartók as a mould breaker—surely not even Vivaldi who wrote music for just about every conceivable instrument could have come up with that combination…Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is a marvellously atmospheric work with a whole gallery of interesting instruments being marshalled with percussion comprising side drum, snare drum, cymbals, tam-tam, bass drum, timpani and xylophone with the celesta, harp and piano ranged in the middle of two sets of strings. Within the four movements of roughly equal lengths there is wonderful writing that fully exploits the individual characteristics of the various sections used and the whole work is a thrilling and exhilarating listen. Once again this orchestra throws itself wholeheartedly into the performance giving full vent to the possibilities the composition allows for. I can imagine that it is extremely taxing for everyone concerned, especially the conductor who must be quite exhausted by its close as there is no let-up from start to finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed these highly energetic performances and am eager to explore other recordings Marin Alsop has made with this fine orchestra, including her highly acclaimed Dvořák cycle. © 2012 MusicWeb International Read complete review