What fun this disc is! True, today you can get all three Bartók piano concertos on a single disc, but these two performances from the mid-1960s, featuring the hot young talent of Peter Serkin and Seiji Ozawa, really deserve a home in the collection of anyone who cares about this music. With the Chicago Symphony in top form, the team blazes through the percussive First Concerto with take-no-prisoners gusto, especially in the finale. The Third Concerto, a more lyrical work to begin with, still sustains a remarkable degree of tension, and sounds as fresh as the day it was written. The central Andante religioso is completely captivating, the tempo perfectly chosen and Serkin finding poetry in just about every bar. The sonics are very clear, but also somewhat two-dimensional. Bartók’s interesting writing for low winds and percussion in the First Concerto is very well caught, but given the spotlight on the piano you’ll need to fiddle with the volume to find a comfortable listening level. Still, these are undoubtedly great performances, and it’s delightful to see them reissued “on demand” by Arkivmusic.com. [2/24/2009]
