Bartók: The Piano Concertos / Anda, Fricsay, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin

"Anda's recordings of the Bartók concertos, made in 1959-60, have remained the preferred versions for nearly 40 years. His variations of touch and range of sound are still extraordinary, and he is equally at home in the brilliant and demanding percussive writing in the first two concertos and the hushed lyricism of the third. He is aided and abetted throughout by the knowing partnership of Fricsay, always an admirable Bartók exponent, and the alert Berlin Radio Orchestra. The sound remains bright and natural after all these years, with no perceptible modifications. Although there have been fine modern accounts of these concertos, notably by Peter Donohoe and Vladimir Ashkenazy, Anda's continue to hold their own...