Onyx Classics Archive

BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra – Augustin Dumay, violin/Orch. symphonique de Montreal/ Kent Nagano – Onyx Classics (2 CDs bound as book)

by Audiophile Audition | Jun 28, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

BÉLA BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra – Augustin Dumay, violin/Orch. symphonique de Montreal/ Kent Nagano – Onyx Classics ONYX4138 (2 CDs), 81:35 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] (5/13/16) ****: Excellent performances that rank with the best. The music of Béla Bartók is, of course, by now standard orchestral fare and he is largely considered one the twentieth century’s most innovative and ingenious composers. There have been literally hundreds of recordings of these two present works – arguably his two most familiar – the second Violin Concerto and the Concerto for Orchestra. So how do these performances compare with some of the many others? I think very favorably indeed. For the second Violin Concerto, I admit I have always greatly enjoyed the old Yehudi Menuhin rendition under Antal Dorati and for a much more recent and very genuinely “Hungarian” take I strongly recommend the somewhat obscure recording by Barnabás Keleman with the Hungarian National Philharmonic. This version with Augustin Dumay is excellent; a bit more ‘refined’ than some versions that seem more “raw” especially in the finale. Dumay is a violinist and conductor of international renown who has played with a number of major orchestras worldwide. He is also […]