Bartok plays Bartok: Mikrokosmos (rec. 1940) - Columbia Masterworks ML 4419, NM

$

51

redgarnett Store ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This handsome and rare LP – a superb collector’s copy – from Columbia Masterworks (ML 4419, US pressing, gray 6eye label, mono) entitled “Béla Bartók playing his own works · Excerpts from Mikrokosmos” features the great composer-pianist in 11 selections from his remarkable cycle of 153 progressively difficult piano pieces divided into 6 volumes.

The exact track list is as follows:

A1

No. 113 Bulgarian Rhythm; No. 129 Alternating Thirds; No. 131 Fourths; No. 128 Peasant Dance

A2

No. 120 Fifth Chords; No. 109 From the Island of Bali; No. 138 Bagpipe

A3

No. 100 In The Style of a Folk Song; No. 142 From the Diary of a Fly; No. 140 Free Variations

A4

No. 133 Syncopation; No. 149 Second Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm; No. 148 First Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm

A5

No. 108 Wrestling; No. 150 Third Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm; No. 151 Fourth Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm

A6

No. 94 Tale; No. 152 Fifth Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm; No. 153 Sixth Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm

B1

No. 126 Change of Time; No. 116 Melody; No. 130 Village Joke; No. 139 Merry Andrew

B2

No. 143 Divided Arpeggios; No. 147 March Band

B3

No. 144 Minor Seconds, Major Sevenths

B4

No. 97 Notturno; No. 118 Triplets In 9/8 Time; No. 141 Subject & Reflection

B5

No. 136 Whole-Tone Scale; No. 125 Boating; No. 114 Theme and Inversion

Written between the years 1926 and 1939, the 11 selections heard here were recorded in New York on 29 April 1940. These performances are mandatory listening for anyone interested in Bartok, the piano, or 20th Century music – truly remarkable performances.

A 1981 Columbia Masterworks re-issue of these performances was a Gramophone Award Winner that year; the citation read:

“The gramophone has accumulated a vast repertoire of recordings of permanent value, and so the Historical category has been divided into vocal and instrumental departments. Even so, competition in the latter remained intense. My colleagues (Malcolm Macdonald and Robert Layton) and I had an arduous task in reducing a so-called short list of about two dozen items to just one. Some of the strongest runners, such as Gieseking's Debussy recordings (HMV RLS752, 9/80), had been predictable, but others might occasion surprise, like the reissue of Harold Samuel's Bach performances (Pearl GEMM147, 11/80). In the end, however, "Bartok plays Bartok" seemed the right and natural choice, for it presents one of our century's greatest composers, who was among the few who was also a great pianist, in works of his own. On one side he is heard in excerpts from the Mikrokosmos series, and the profound musicality of his playing scarcely needs emphasis. On the other side he is found with Joseph Szigeti and Benny Goodman in Contrasts, a work they jointly commissioned and of which they gave the first performances. Here then is some living musical history, recordings that will be of as much interest in a hundred years time as they are now, a demonstration of the gramophone's true value.”

There are informative liner notes (uncredited) on the reverse side of the jacket, provided in English only. The striking cover design is similarly uncredited.

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the jacket, still largely in the original shrinkwrap, is near-MINT. There is slight wear at corners, but really that is all. Otherwise, the album appears almost as new. There are no seamsplits, bends, or owners' markings, and the album remains very solid, bright, and glossy, quite striking in appearance – overall, an outstanding collector's copy.

The condition of the LP itself is near-MINT. Although the surfaces would appear to be only EX, in fact the LP plays as NM – very quiet surfaces – a superb collector’s copy.

PLEASE NOTE:
This LP has been carefully cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

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