Bartók, Béla: Concerto for Orchestra op. BB123 (1943) 38'
Scoring
3(III=picc).3(III=corA).3(III=bcl).3(III=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp. perc:cyms/tam-t/tgl/BD/SD-2harps-strings
World Premiere
12/1/1944
Symphony Hall, Boston
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Serge Koussevitzky
Repertoire Note
Bartók’s most popular piece for full orchestra, the Concerto began as a work of gratitude on recovering sufficiently from serious illness. Despite a “lugubrious death-song” as the third movement (Elegia), the Concerto’s general lightness, humour and systematic exposure of all parts of the orchestra made it an immediate success when it was performed in late 1944 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the work’s commissioner, Serge Koussevitzky. Interesting comparative works of the period are the Concerto for Orchestra that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra commissioned from Kodály and premièred in 1941, and Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra (1950-54).
Note by Malcolm Gillies
Items on Sale
Recommended Recording
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniele Gatti
Conifer 75605 51324-2
Scoring
3(III=picc).3(III=corA).3(III=bcl).3(III=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp. perc:cyms/tam-t/tgl/BD/SD-2harps-strings
World Premiere
12/1/1944
Symphony Hall, Boston
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Serge Koussevitzky
Repertoire Note
Bartók’s most popular piece for full orchestra, the Concerto began as a work of gratitude on recovering sufficiently from serious illness. Despite a “lugubrious death-song” as the third movement (Elegia), the Concerto’s general lightness, humour and systematic exposure of all parts of the orchestra made it an immediate success when it was performed in late 1944 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the work’s commissioner, Serge Koussevitzky. Interesting comparative works of the period are the Concerto for Orchestra that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra commissioned from Kodály and premièred in 1941, and Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra (1950-54).
Note by Malcolm Gillies
Items on Sale
| Concerto for Orchestra | (Full score - Masterworks) | > Details |
| Concerto for Orchestra | Piano (Facsimile) | > Details |
| Concerto for Orchestra (1993) | (Full score) | > Details |
Recommended Recording
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniele Gatti
Conifer 75605 51324-2
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Leonard Bernstein: Orchestral Masterworks
Two anthologies of Bernstein favourites are in the Masterworks series of full scores: Volume One contains music from West Side Story and On the Town, and Volume Two includes the Candide Overture, On the Waterfront and Prelude, Fugue & Riffs.
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