Andras Schiff, Ivan Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra - Bela Bartok: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-3 (1996)

By a happy coincidence András Schiff was playing Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto at the BBC Proms as I was preparing this review. That would make for some interesting comparisons, given that 15 years separates these Budapest and London performances. I have long admired the Kovacevich/Colin Davis recording of all three concertos on Philips 426 660-2; it’s been a while since I’ve listened to that disc, but my abiding memory is of motoric rhythms and a big, meaty sound that’s a tad overwhelming at times. All very thrilling, but behind those obsessive ostinati and jagged chords lurks music of astonishing range and colour that deserves to be heard as well.

The presence of Iván Fischer and his Budapest band augurs well, for their version of Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances is rhythmically alert and very colourful indeed. The Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest also strikes me as a fine venue, with no acoustic overhang that could blunt Bartók’s spiky writing or curtail the efforts of an overworked percussion department. Most important, perhaps, is that Schiff and Fischer are generally musicians of sensitivity and good judgement, qualities that really matter in this easily overheated repertoire.

Minutes into the Allegro of the first concerto and it’s clear that Fischer’s forensic approach is already unearthing hidden details. And although Schiff’s pianism isn’t as unremittingly muscular as Kovacevich’s he still sets a blistering pace; as for the balance between piano and orchestra I much prefer the Warner perspective which – like the recording itself – sounds very natural indeed. Schiff’s galvanic dialogue with the side-drum is superbly done, woodwind interjections rising out of the mix with startling three-dimensionality.

It’s always a pleasure when musical athleticism is allied to wide-ranging sonics, the bass drum at the end of this Allegro Telarc-like in its weight and impact. But there’s delicacy too, the shimmer and beat at the start of the Andante as captivating as I’ve ever heard it. Fischer finds just the right pulse for this music, a beat that can so easily be lost in more abandoned performances. There’s an ease and naturalness here, a firm sense of scale and architecture, that’s most impressive; the Allegro molto – less febrile than Kovacevich’s – is still as quirky and propulsive as one could wish.

Sophistication – even suavity – aren’t epithets one normally applies to these concertos but that’s exactly what these performances deliver. The opening Allegro of the second concerto, with its coruscating, Petrushka-like piano part, is carried off with aplomb; as for those driving rhythms they’re impeccably shaped and controlled, the antithesis of Kovacevich and Davis. Even the eerie nachtmusik of the second movement is more darkly voluptuous than usual; indeed, the sheer presence of this recording is spine-tingling, those instrumental whoops and sly drum rolls adding to the sense of a danse macabre. The Allegro molto is even wilder; goodness, what an aural drubbing this is, Fischer aiming his punches for maximum effect.

If you’re left reeling after that assault the Allegretto of the third concerto won’t offer much respite. Not only is there an extra sparkle to the piano sound the instrument also seems bolder and more forward than before. That’s no bad thing in this most visceral of concertos, but firm control is required if the music’s not to be overdriven. As ever Schiff and Fischer calibrate their performance very well, the dance rhythms especially pliant. But it’s the colours of this concerto that shine most brightly, this virtuoso band simply splendid throughout.

One might think that Schiff – who doesn’t produce the biggest sound – would struggle in this concerto, yet he manages to convey plenty of weight and thrust when required. In the introspective Adagio religioso his handling of nuance and dynamics is masterly, a perfect foil to his more extrovert pianism elsewhere. Fischer is similarly inspired, adding to the deep sense of rapport between conductor and soloist. But this is the Bartók concerto where the piano really takes centre stage, the orchestra retiring to the wings. That said, the Stygian bass drum is still there – more felt than heard – the music’s jazzy inflexions nicely judged.

Old loyalties die hard, but for all its flash and fire the Kovacevich/Davis recording is no match for the endless subtleties and illumnations of this Warner reissue. Indeed, I’d go so far as to say these are peerless performances, alert, alive, astounding. My only regret is that it’s taken me so long to discover them.

Review by Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International

"When we are taught that in classical music four semiquavers must be played absolutely equally, then we are far removed from the truth." The words are those of Andras Schiff, written in the context of his booklet-essay "Bart& in Performance". And it's certainly true that although Schifrs free-flowing renditions of the Bart& piano concertos are never too far from the written page, they rarely stick rigidly to the letter. The first solo statement in the Second Concerto, for example (007" into track 4) is lilting and capricious, quite unlike the earnest pronouncements of Anda, Donohoe or Kocsis. Likewise in the 'night music' slow movement, where Schiff follows Bartok's own example in rushing towards the crest of a phrase (as heard in an incomplete broadcast performance on Hungaroton). True, his Presto isn't quite as nimble as Anda's (these particular insects sound as if they'd rather have been left to slumber), but I can imagine some readers rejoicing in the many subtle shifts in pace and dynamics that colour Schiff's performances. Ivan Fischer's Budapest Festival Orchestra are on great form; woodwind solos are more characterful than on their last excursion into this repertoire (accompanying Kocsis between 1984 and 1987), brass choirs have immense force and the juggernaut big drums thrash thunder into the last movement of the Second Concerto.

The First Concerto suggests a sense of play that rivals Donohoe and Rattle, especially in the first movement - although I continue to prefer Donohoe's mesmerizing account of the Andante. The Third Concerto suits Schiff best of all: his tone is nicely rounded, his chords perfectly weighted and there's some nifty fingerwork (try from 506" into the finale). Again, one enjoys a mass of wellobserved instrumental detail - for example, the little clarinet counter-melody at 220" into the first movement and the evenly held bassoon pedal at 333".

Schiff habitually avoids any hint of percussiveness. He virtually sings these concertos, which makes for a near-ideal Third but, in the case of the Second, prompts something of an uneven confrontation. Schiff's contribution to the Second is consistently bright, nimble, even a little coquettish, while Fischer's response is brazen and athletic. The same might be said of the First Concerto, except that there the sound is so astonishingly lifelike that it virtually amounts to an aural drama on its own terms. As to rivals, my own personal favourites are Anda (elegant and muscular) and Kocsis (forceful and spontaneous), then Donohoe's propulsive First, Bernathova's airy Third and now Schiff's colourful account of the Third as compelling backups.

Review by Robert Cowan, Gramophone

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 19. February 2016, 16:47

Bartok, Bela / Piano Concertos Nos. 1-3 - Andras Schiff

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==== Log checksum 8398CCBB3E6CE3AC16CCE07EAADAD18E22A19549125024566067BE9C3724A6FF ====

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-03-04 19:53:36

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Bartók, Béla / Piano Concertos Nos. 1-3 - Andras Schiff (piano), Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR16 -0.80 dB -21.98 dB 9:25 01-No.1, Sz 83 - I. Allegro moderato - Allegro
DR16 -6.77 dB -29.09 dB 7:12 02-No.1, Sz 83 - II. Andante
DR17 -0.12 dB -20.48 dB 7:00 03-No.1, Sz 83 - III. Allegro - Allegro molto
DR16 -0.41 dB -21.11 dB 9:45 04-No.2, Sz 95 - I. Allegro
DR16 -2.49 dB -24.84 dB 12:37 05-No.2, Sz 95 - II. Adagio - Presto - Adagio
DR14 -0.11 dB -18.54 dB 6:19 06-No.2, Sz 95 - III. Allegro molto
DR14 -0.17 dB -21.62 dB 7:44 07-No.3, Sz 119 - I. Allegretto
DR14 -5.96 dB -27.04 dB 9:43 08-No.3, Sz 119 - II. Adagio religioso
DR14 -0.19 dB -21.12 dB 6:42 09-No.3, Sz 119 - III. [Allegro vivace]
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 9
Official DR value: DR15

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