Saturday 29 January 2011

Bronfman Bartók Piano Concerto no 1


Yefim Bronfman plays Bartók's Concerto for Piano no 1 in Japan in 1994. Altthough this isn't the "greatest" performance, it shows the precision that underpins Bartók's music. The popular image of Bartók as "wild" is simplistic. Bartók himself was a virtuoso pianist, which is perhaps why he knew the complex interweaving of themes would work if performers had the skill that comes from technical discipline. Nothing haphazard in this music, nor indeed of anything  the composer wrote. Folk origins don't mean sloppy. The wildness springs from a firm grip of structure. Read MORE here about Bronfman playing this with Salonen and the Philharmonia in London, part of the Infernal Dance series at the South Bank.

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