"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...

本版是由丹尼尔哈丁指挥自己的亲兵瑞典广播交响乐团与著名的女小提琴家伊莎贝尔福斯特合作的巴托克的两首小提琴协奏曲。
伊莎蓓兒．佛斯特的早期演奏事業曾經和巴爾托克的奏鳴曲密不可分，經過漫長的等待她總算回頭發行巴爾托克的小提琴協奏曲專輯。第一號在巴爾托克生前完全沒有演出機會也未曾出版，佛斯特在全心投入錄音之前總是要仔細看過草稿和手稿，這點準備工作倒是從未變過，或許正因如此這個版本才會如此異常優美並且鞭辟入裡。第二號亦是如此，她和指揮哈丁選擇結尾只有管弦樂單獨演奏的原始版，而非一般常見巴爾托克為委託者塞凱里後來改寫的炫技版。哈丁有時也是樣貌多變的巴爾托克專家，清晰、投入而且敏銳。另外，你一定要好好讀過佛斯特親自撰寫的解說冊：她的解說就和她的演奏一樣充滿說服力。

Bartok: Violin Sonata No. 1; Janacek: Sonata; Messiaen: Theme and Variations Gidon Kremer, violin; Martha Argerich, piano. Deutsche Grammophon 427 351-2; CD.
Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich are ideal partners in this program of forceful, searching and variably acidic early 20th-century works. The collaboration works especially well in Bartok's First Sonata (1921); this reading in many ways outshines that of an earlier pair of stars, David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter. With their characteristic flexibility, Mr. Kremer and Ms. Argerich capture the near hysteria of the work's first movement, the uneasily subdued passions of the second and the throaty vehemence of the finale. And they convey that broad emotional range with coherence and unity of purpose.
The Janacek Sonata (1914-21) also benefits from an unusually intense reading; indeed, some listeners may find this account overwrought and too emotionally draining.
The aphoristic Messiaen Variations (1932) are little more than a filler, but an illuminating one. They share the Bartok's dark atmosphere and the Janacek's melodic inventiveness, with a touch of Debussian harmonic mistiness in which one hears the roots of Mr. Messiaen's later style.

Blu-spec CD(TM)で聴く、ジョージ・セルの芸術：最注目盤！
豊かな音楽性を実現するためのアンサンブル能力の徹底的な向上――。セルとクリーヴランド管弦楽団が目指した高邁な哲学が最高度に発揮されるバルトークの「管弦楽のための協奏曲」。今なお色あせない独特の色彩感が魅力的な録音です。また、最近小説でもとりあげられて人気が急上昇しているヤナーチェクの「シンフォニエッタ」も、きわめて説得力の高い演奏となっており、Blu-spec CD(TM)の高い表現力とあいまって、迫真の演奏が展開されています。 ジョージ･セル指揮､クリーヴランド管弦楽団の演奏による､バルトークの管弦楽のための協奏曲を収録した1965年録音盤｡

“The Alban Berg bring all their usual sophistication and Viennese hothouse climate to works which are sometimes illuminated by them, and equally often obscured.” - BBC Music Magazine, August 2006

20世纪的弦乐四重奏，真正够资格说是继承和发展了海顿、贝多芬传统的，就是巴托克这六首了。他们对于20世纪音乐的重要性，是和海顿四重奏在18世纪、贝多芬四重奏在19世纪等量齐观的。这六首作品的写作时间横跨30年，几乎跨越了巴托克的整个创作生涯，因此将他们看作巴托克最具个性和经验深度的代表作，无疑是合乎情理的。
三乐章的《第一弦乐四重奏》，开篇一反惯例地安排了慢板，其情调让人联想到贝多芬晚年四重奏中那些著名的慢乐章。第二首也是三个乐章，而慢板又反常地摆到了最后。第三首的中间乐章相当于一首谐谑曲，完全是巴托克式的激烈、紧张，四件乐器交替拨奏、击弦，活泼有力的竞奏呈现出一派盎然的生机。第四首和第五首都是有五个短小乐章组成。第六首道是传统的四乐章，但他们的第二乐章声势不凡，竟有鼓号齐鸣的效果。第三乐章更是潇洒，颇多调侃，模仿一下爵士乐，又来点儿打击乐，恐怕老贝多芬听了也会称奇，作出会心一笑。
埃默森四重奏组这个1988年的演录，是目前能够听到的巴托克六首四重奏的最佳唱片，演奏粗犷有力，音色却不失柔美、娇艳。