Andre Gertler: Bela Bartok: Violin Works Complete.

Andre Gertler Bela Bartok: Violin Works Complete Andre Gertler--violin, Josef Suk--violin, Diane Andersen--piano, Milan Etlik--clarinet, Brno State Philharmonic, conductor Jan Ferencsik, Czech Philharmonic, conductor Karel Ancerl. Production: Petr Vit. Text: Cz., Eng., Ger., Fr. Recorded: Besedni dum Brno 1962, Studio Rudolfinum and Domovina Prague 1963-1965. Published: 2007. TT: 58:16, 71:42, 71:11, 62:16. ADD. 4 CD Supraphon SU 3924-2.

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After a recording of the violin concertos of Gian Francesco Malipiero and Alfredo Casella, the Supraphon archives have come up with other recordings made with the violinist Andre Gertler. Gertler died in 1998, and so this CD is a contribution to the tenth anniversary of his death. We are grateful to the editor Petr Vit for making available to the public Bela Bartok's complete works for violin performed by a supremely qualified musicians who had presented the world premiere of many of the composer's compositions and for many years appeared with him (with Bartok playing piano). The recording presents works written over the period 1908-1944, and so it also a kind of guide to Bartok's development as a composer from works heavily influenced by the composer's activities in folklore to the "barbarian" period of the 1920s to the mature Sonata for Solo Violin of 1944. Gertler's partner in the Duets for Two Violins is Josef Suk, and in the Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano the clarinettist Milan Etlik and pianist Diana Andersen, and in the works for orchestra the Brno State Philharmonic with Janos Ferencsik and the Czech Philharmonic with Karel Ancerl. There is no need to talk at length about the qualities of this album: the choice, standard of performance and the standard of digital treatment and accompanying text by Jaromir Havlik all deserve a maximum rating.