Garrick Ohlsson and Ivan Fischer, Budapest Festival O make Bartok's piano concerto 3 breathe.

Rapt, satisfying negotiations

 between a roomful of instruments,

 a guy grimacing and waving his arms,

 and another fellow at the piano.

Bela Bartok

Sz. 119, BB 12: Piano Concerto no.3

Budapest Festival Orchestra

Iván Fischer, conductor

Garrick Ohlsson, soloist

BBC Proms 2006 

No. 44: August 16th 2006 

Royal Albert Hall, London

Bartok's gift for his wife. 

That gorgeous middle piece, Adagio religioso, is a swath of time I got lost in with this performance. Looking though reviews of the concert, some 'lack of ensemble' was pointed out. Listeing to Garrick Ohlsson's way with my favorite piano pieces, the nocturnes, I think its part of his style. The Pires/Cortot hairtrigger emotional sensiblities on display there are what undergird the quiet power of this recording. Yes, Some accents here and there are impulsively mashed into their spots early, but when the field clears and the orchestra/soloist dialogue is laid bare- as it is for stark stretches in the Bartok 3- they surpass any other recording I have heard, out of a dozen. Hear that whole dealmaking process from 4:30 to 5:17 first movement! 

As usual around here, performance trumps sound quality; It's 192 kbps.

This outing kept me listening to the conversation until the end, illuminating new spots and making sense of more than I had ever heard before. I think maybe both this one and the Argerich/Dutoit EMI release I could be sated.

And the last movement sounds like they're having serious fun, tossing ideas back and forth, as if making some of it up as they go.

This came from the awesome folks at the concert archives group. They are something else altogether.