The Piano Concertos

Béla Bartók is undoubtedly one of the great composers in music history - and one of the few modern composers to have secured a firm place in the repertoire. His three piano concertos play a central role in his biography and his oeuvre, although only the third can truly be called "popular". The first two are indeed popular among pianists, but are rather neglected by the public. Tzimon Barto sees a problem in an overly brutal-rhythmic approach: "Bartók also needs velvet paws. If you hammer your way through the work without conviction, it's no wonder that it freezes in tedium". In these recordings he tries to realize his Bartók ideal