Ancerl’s Bartók Concerto for Orchestra was one of the outstanding versions of the LP era, and I frankly prefer its humane warmth to Reiner’s somewhat chilly version from the same period. The timbres of the Czech Philharmonic however do take some getting used to. As usual the winds shine, particularly in the second movement where Ancerl’s deliberate pace gives them every opportunity to strut their stuff. Brass, particularly the horns, lack the penetrating power of their Western counterparts and some listeners may find their wide vibrato off-putting. I think it sounds characterful, and there’s no question about Ancerl’s typically cogent grip on the music’s architecture or his sure tracing of its emotional curve.
This is also my favorite version of the Viola Concerto. Jaroslav Karlovský plays with passion and nicely penetrating but never wiry tone, while Ancerl provides an accompaniment second to none in precision and excitement. The finale in particular finds everyone giving one hundred percent, making the best possible case for a work that sometimes sounds irredeemably patchy. Sonically the Viola Concerto, though recorded earlier, surpasses the Concerto for Orchestra which has always sounded boxy. Still, Supraphon seems to have done what they could to open up the top without making it sound screechy, and certainly the performance’s artistic values remain undimmed.
