Bartok B. - Concerto For Orchestra..

Facts None of the older versions, not even Dorati's own earlier issues, brings out the folk-dance element so captivatingly as this beautifully-played and recorded new version of the 'Concerto For Orchestra'. In the best sense this is a fun performance, with its point not at all reduced, if anything enhanced by the slight distancing of the orchestral sound in the Concertgebouw acoustic. In the ''Elegia'', where generally Dorati favors slightly slower speeds than before, in the slow movement he is this time faster and a degree less intense, whether in the hushed opening or the biting climaxes. In the finale his speed here is exactly the same as last, but the Concertgebouw players, make it sound more fun, less of an endurance test, and each episode brings extra individuality from the soloists.