(http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Lib-BIG/Bartok-Bela-04.jpg)
It's time for another poll. Aren't you all super excited?!?!? ::) ;D Anyway, there's one stipulation: you can only pick one concerto. Have fun! 8)
My picks (in no particular order):
Bluebeard's Castle
The Miraculous Mandarin
Piano Concerto No. 3
Contrasts
Dance Suite
Miraculous Mandarin
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
CfO
Dance Suite
Divertimento
music for strings, percussion etc.
string quartets #4 and #5
piano concerto #2
sonata for 2 pianos + percussion (without restrictions I would have named another piano concerto)
Violin Concerto no. 2
Out of Doors
Dance Suite
String Quartet no. 5
Miraculous Mandarin
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 2 (though, I could easily go with 1)
Piano Sonata, Sz. 80 (I could go with Out of Doors, but I'll pick the Sz. 80 since the former has been mentioned)
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Dance Suite (if another concerto was allowed, I would have picked the CFO)
Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
Piano Concerto 1
Quartets 3 & 5
Violin Sonata 1
ez
bonus poll: Top 5 Bartók Endings
Miraculous Mandarin (ballet)
Concerto for Orchestra (revised)
Sonata for 2 Pianos & Percussion
Quartet 5, movement 4
Piano Concerto 3
Concerto #1 for Piano and Orchestra
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Miraculous Mandarin
Mikrokosmos Book VI #144: Minor Seconds, Major Sevenths
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
And of course:
Concerto for Orchestra
String Quartet #5
Piano Concerto #1
Concerto for Orchestra (I categorize this as a symphony rather than a concerto, in spite of the title)
String Quartet #2
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Bluebeard's Castle
Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
Piano Concerto No.1
Piano Concerto No.2
Violin Concerto No.2
The Miraculous Mandarin
Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
String Quartet 3
String Quartet 4
Piano Concerto 1
It's interesting that there's so little love for quartet 6 -- and yet there is for other later pieces (at least Concerto for Orchestra) and other quartets. Just seeing those lists and the absence of quaret 6 has really made me think about it, and the more I think about it the more I don't know what to make of it.
Quote from: Mandryka on May 25, 2015, 11:11:27 AM
It's interesting that there's so little love for quartet 6 -- and yet there is for other later pieces (at least Concerto for Orchestra) and other quartets. Just seeing those lists and the absence of quaret 6 has really made me think about it, and the more I think about it the more I don't know what to make of it.
It could easily have made my list--in fact, I strongly considered it, but just haven't developed enough familiarity with it to put in on in place of #2 yet (the latter of which I got to hear performed live not too long ago, which may be biasing me in its relative favor for the time being). The 6th Quartet could well turn out to be my favorite, once I develop that level of familiarity with it. The same may be true (in my case) for the third piano concerto--like the 6th quartet, it has the reputation for being a softer-edged, more accessible work, which is not normally what one thinks of when thinking, "I'm in the mood for some Bartók--for what shall I reach?" However, what I do recall of the 6th Quartet is that it is the kind of work that seems to hold a certain amount of depth in reserve, that will almost certainly reward repeated listening (whereas the more "intense" parts of Quartet #3, for example, have started to become a bit overly familiar to me, losing some of their power to a certain extent).
Quote from: Mandryka on May 25, 2015, 12:20:47 PM
The 6th quartet always makes me think of Shostakovich, and Mahler. From the heart, candid, like Shostakovich can be. And there are crazy marches and funny folk tunes like you get in Mahler, the Burletta and mahler 9. It's very odd.
These are just my random associations, I'm sure it has more to do with me than the music!
I'll definitely have to listen to it again, now. Perhaps what I remember liking about it is the connection to Shostakovich (at least, the Shostakovich of the string quartets, who to me feels like an entirely different composer from that of the symphonies). On the other hand, the crazy marches and funny folk tunes are what usually keep me from enjoying Mahler more than I do. Still, I suspect Bartók does crazy marches and folk tunes in a rather different way from Mahler, so I may enjoy it more.
No Bartok for me.. :P
Dance Suite
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 3
Romanian Folk Dances
Concerto for Orchestra
Quote from: Christo on May 25, 2015, 12:45:04 PM
Dance Suite
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 3
Romanian Folk Dances
Concerto for Orchestra
All fine choices. I must listen to
Romanian Folk Dances again as it's been quite some time.
8) Only 2 can be called favorites..
Miraculous Mandarin
Ct. for Orchestra
Piano Concerto 3
Concerto for Orchestra
Dance Suite
Violin Concerto 2
Don't have a fifth at the moment. I need to get to know the chamber music better.
Piano Quintet
String Quartet no 4
Cantata Profana
The Wooden Prince
Out of Doors
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Romanian Folk Dances
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Bluebeard's Castle
String Quartet No. 5
Kossuth
Concerto for Orchestra
Two Portraits op.5
Piano Concerto No.3
String Quartet No.6
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Piano Sonata
Piano Concerto No. 1
Miraculous Mandarin
S2PP
MSPC
Mikrokosmos
DBC
PC2
Quote from: NorthNYMark on May 26, 2015, 02:38:30 PM
DBC?
Quite right, my omission.
DB'sC
8)
(Duke Bluebeard's Castle)
Quote from: Ken B on May 26, 2015, 02:42:54 PM
Quite right, my omission.
DB'sC
8)
(Duke Bluebeard's Castle)
Ah! I think the version I have just lists it as
Bluebeard's Castle, so I didn't think of that. I was wondering if there was a double bass concerto I didn't know about.
Bluebeard's Castle
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 1
String Quartet No. 4
String Quartet No. 6
Oh my, this is a tough one!
Concerto for Orchestra
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
String Quartet No. 4
The Miraculous Mandarin
The Wooden Prince
Violin sonata 1
Sonata for two pianos and percussion
String Quartet No. 3
String Quartet No. 4
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
I like the concertos, but I think Bartok is nowhere as good as in his chamber music.
Quote from: Trout on May 26, 2015, 03:39:20 PM
Piano Concerto No. 1
I think we must be in a minority, we who refer PC #1 over #2 and #3. They're all great, but there's just something about that extraordinary First. Love the percussion in the second movement! ;D
Quote from: jochanaan on May 28, 2015, 07:17:25 AM
I think we must be in a minority, we who refer PC #1 over #2 and #3. They're all great, but there's just something about that extraordinary First. Love the percussion in the second movement! ;D
I agree entirely!
Quote from: jochanaan on May 28, 2015, 07:17:25 AM
I think we must be in a minority, we who refer PC #1 over #2 and #3. They're all great, but there's just something about that extraordinary First. Love the percussion in the second movement! ;D
I think they're all fantastic concerti, but
Piano Concerto No. 3 moves me on a deeper emotional level than the others. The second movement of the 3rd,
Adagio religioso, has a beauty to it that if I'm caught in a certain mood will trigger something inside of me and I'll just break out in tears. When music means this much to you, it doesn't matter whether you're in the minority or the majority, you simply have touched on something that's beyond our realm of understanding.
Solo violin sonata (it was Leila Josefowitcz's performance which helped me to appreciate this)
Mikrokosmos bks 5 and 6
Quartet 4
Quartet 5 (it was the Zehetmair Quartet's performance which made helped me to appreciate this.)
3rd etude for piano (it was Jerome Lowenthal's performance which helped me to appreciate this.)
Bluebeard's Castle
The Wooden Prince
Kossuth
Piano Concerto 1
Violin Concerto 2 (1938)
Quote from: NJ Joe on May 26, 2015, 03:41:07 PM
Concerto for Orchestra
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
String Quartet No. 4
The Miraculous Mandarin
The Wooden Prince
In honor of the resurrection of this thread, here's another 5:
Dance Suite
Piano Concerto 1
Violin Concerto 2
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
String Quartet 5
Quote from: Thatfabulousalien on December 30, 2016, 06:07:50 PM
I think I'll just add that I absolutely hate the "suite version", it completely destroys the flow of the original ballet :'(
I wouldn't say I 'hate' it per se, but I do feel that the complete ballet is always the way to go, especially for that eerie chorus.
Quote from: Mirror Image on December 30, 2016, 07:12:23 PM
I wouldn't say I 'hate' it per se, but I do feel that the complete ballet is always the way to go, especially for that eerie chorus.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51falsBbuyL.jpg)
I listened to this earlier today, and yes, that chorus is eerie!
Quote from: NJ Joe on December 30, 2016, 07:28:44 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51falsBbuyL.jpg)
I listened to this earlier today, and yes, that chorus is eerie!
Indeed. Bartok just looks like someone you'd expect to reveal his fangs at any second.
(http://artmagazin.hu/content/_common/images/kepek6/kepek11/art57_bartok15.jpg)
Where to start? Hahaha
The 6 SQs. Perhaps knock off the 1st SQ for the sake of the thread restriction .. and you get a very clear representation of a total musical genius in full flower.
There, done.
Obviously there is A LOT more!!!
He was truly "GREAT".
Piano Concerto no. 3
Divertimento for strings
Piano Quintet (I'm serious, it's that good)
String Quartet no. 6
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Piano Concerto No. 2
String Quartet No. 5
Bluebeard's Castle
The Miraculous Mandarin
Piano Quartet (an early, yet very solid piece)
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
String Quartet No. 3
Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2
Contrasts
Romanian Folk Dances
Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 3
Violin Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 2
Concerto for Orchestra
A kékszakállú herceg vára
Piano Concerto 2
MSPC
Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion
Viola Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 1
Bluebeard's Castle
Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
Divertimento for strings
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Bluebeard's Castle
The Miraculous Mandarin
Piano Concerto No.2
String Quartet No.4
I suppose I should update my list --- in no particular order:
Bluebeard's Castle
Piano Concerto No. 2
String Quartet No. 4
Out of Doors
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on July 09, 2024, 04:52:45 PMPiano Concerto No. 2
String Quartet No. 5
Bluebeard's Castle
The Miraculous Mandarin
Piano Quartet (an early, yet very solid piece)
You like his Piano Quartet more than his Piano
Quintet? The Quartet is "solid", like you say, but the Quintet is more than that - an early masterpiece full of fire and energy. Its finale is one of the most rousing movements of chamber music that I know!
Duke Bluebeard's Castle
The Miraculous Mandarin
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 3
Piano Quintet
His string quartets still remain pieces I admire rather than love or even like - I find them his most "difficult" works by some distance. Maybe someday that'll change... ::)
Quote from: kyjo on July 15, 2024, 01:30:39 PMYou like his Piano Quartet more than his Piano Quintet? The Quartet is "solid", like you say, but the Quintet is more than that - an early masterpiece full of fire and energy. Its finale is one of the most rousing movements of chamber music that I know!
Yes, I do, I see nothing wrong with that, and it is solid and masterful too IMO. It has to do with the fact that it impressed me very much the last time I heard it, so I decided to put it. Also, that was a list at the moment, it is subject to changes whenever a work strikes me like better or more interesting.
Quote from: kyjo on July 15, 2024, 01:36:32 PMHis string quartets still remain pieces I admire rather than love or even like - I find them his most "difficult" works by some distance. Maybe someday that'll change... ::)
None of his string quartets made my top 5 either, although I do like them and consider them among the best composed in the 20th century. For me as great as they are I enjoy a number of his other pieces more, but this is largely reflective of my tastes in instrumentation. I tend to prefer the sound of orchestral pieces, or works with keyboard whether solo or chamber. The over-all timbre of a string quartet I find for some reason less-appealing. I know they have their strengths but it is not a medium I would personally use to compose. This aside there are a number of string quartets I like a lot. If I was to do a top ten Bartók list I would include the 6th quartet.
Quote from: kyjo on July 15, 2024, 01:36:32 PMHis string quartets still remain pieces I admire rather than love or even like - I find them his most "difficult" works by some distance. Maybe someday that'll change... ::)
I think his violin sonatas are more challenging than his string quartets. I like and listen to Bartok's string quartets more than anything else he wrote.
A "problem" of the quartets is that all are fairly tough, with the most accessible ones are 4-6, or maybe 2. 3 is the toughest, and 1 is still between the Straussian-Brahmsian early Bartok (as in the 1st movement probably inspired by Beethovens op.131) and the "real Bartok" (as in the Hungarian finale).
Quote from: Jo498 on July 16, 2024, 04:16:06 AMA "problem" of the quartets is that all are fairly tough, with the most accessible ones are 4-6, or maybe 2. 3 is the toughest, and 1 is still between the Straussian-Brahmsian early Bartok (as in the 1st movement probably inspired by Beethovens op.131) and the "real Bartok" (as in the Hungarian finale).
Oddly enough, I recall liking the 3rd the best out of the cycle upon recent listening, if not by a large margin (maybe because it's the shortest? ;)). The 1st struck me as a surprisingly depressing and unappealing (to me) work.
Quartet 3
Quartet 4
Quartet 5
Quartet 6
Op 18 Etudes
Hmm I've tried and deleted too many times: can't do this one.
Quote from: Luke on July 16, 2024, 02:32:58 PMHmm I've tried and deleted too many times: can't do this one.
10 is easy; 5 is tough. I realized I had to leave off Bluebeard's Castle.
Concerto for Orchestra
Music for Strings, Percussion, Celeste
Bluebeard
Cantata Profana
Mandarin
Quote from: Daverz on July 16, 2024, 04:47:00 PM10 is easy; 5 is tough. I realized I had to leave off Bluebeard's Castle.
Exactly - same here.
I'll say this much, though - the second and third quartets are on all my various lists.
2nd group of 5:
Miraculous Mandarin (full ballet)
Bluebeard's Castle
Sonata for 2 Pianos & Percussion
Dance Suite
String Quartet No. 4
Second group of 5:
Two Portraits
String Quartet No. 6
Violin Concerto No. 2
Violin Sonata No. 2
Sonatina Sz. 55 BB. 69