Bela Bartok - the wooden prince
Yes after hearing and loving the miraculeous mandarin which was a ballet, i decide to take a chance whit Bartok's Wooden prince.Quite interresting work the¸atmosphere is fantastic has always , bartok never disapointed me before.
Its a shame its relatively unknow among great ballet, maybe it depend on the lisener heh?
I definitely think Bartok's music does more for the story than the other way around!
'...a violator of his word, a libertine over head and ears in debt and disgrace, a despiser of domestic ties, the companion of gamblers and demireps, a man who has just closed half a century without a single claim on the gratitude of his country or the respect of posterity...' - Leigh Hunt on the Prince Regent (later George IV).
ὃν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν ἀποθνῄσκει νέος [Those whom the gods love die young] - Menander
Bartok had a way of writing ballets that were underperformed. But this piece, what an opening!
Oh yes! And the Dance of the Trees (Second Dance) and the Dance of the Waves (Third Dance) are spectacular also. This ballet is a masterpiece. And by the way, I would recommend Boulez's DG recording with the Chicago SO wholeheartedly (if you have not acquire it yet).Originally Posted by Manxfeeder
Last edited by Orfeo; Nov-18-2014 at 04:16.
David A. Hollingsworth (dholling)
~All good art is about something deeper than it admits.
Roger Ebert
Manxfeeder liked this post
Definitely a great recording and performance!
Orfeo liked this post
That disc won a Grammy, and the Cantata Profana is just (if not more so) as spectacular as The Wooden Prince
I've had this CD since it was a new release, but never even realized that this album is a Grammy winner.
It's a very rich work full of details, it does require a lot of balance and timing control between conductor and orchestra to bring out all its colors. It's better to favour the Debussy in it than the Strauss.
Triplets liked this post
Very good work by Bartok. The Mandarin, I like more but it is so rich and playful. Very underrated ballet score, worth checking out.
This is one of Bartok's great orchestral successes and I was surprised to see it described as "underrated". But I'll have to concede that point as I see the Chicago Symphony and LA Philharmonic both performed it for the first time in 1987 under Pierre Boulez, 70 years after it was written. I've long had the Dorati/LSO recording, great performance and good sound quality for its day (1964).
I saw it once performed complete with the ballet at the Holland festival many years ago and the conductur was Antal Dorati,it was very exciting and I was spellbound .
Triplets liked this post
I have recordings by Boulez with the CSO and Dorati, but I have to admit the piece doesn't make much of an impression on me, and I find it to be a major letdown after Mandarin. I'll give it another spin
Sounds wooden to me.
Pugg liked this post
Hilarious that dry humourSounds wooden to me.
Vaneyes liked this post
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