Composer: Béla Bartók
Performer: Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Pentatone
Catalogue: PTC5187029
Release: 2023
Size: 2.53 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Piano Concerto No. 1 in A Major, Sz. 83
01. I. Allegro moderato — Allegro
02. II. Andante — attacca
03. III. Allegro molto
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Sz. 95
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Adagio — Presto — Più adagio
06. III. Allegro molto
Piano Concerto No. 3 in E Major, Sz. 119
07. I. Allegretto
08. II. Adagio religioso
09. III. Allegro vivace
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard joins forces with the San Francisco Symphony and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen for a recording of Bartok’s complete piano concertos. A pianist himself, Bartok imbued his three concertos with multiple aspects of his compositional persona, ranging from complex and innovative (the First) to exuberant (the Second) and serene (the Third). The result is a fascinating slice of his musical life. This all-Bartok release marks the first Pentatone collaboration between Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony, an ensemble he has reshaped through creative performance concepts and expansive new media projects.
A renowned champion of twentieth-century music, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has released multiple acclaimed albums in his exclusive contract with Pentatone, including Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux (2018) and Visions de l’Amen (2022), along with Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata & Eroica Variations (2021). He also joined Tamara Stefanovich in Etudes and Frames (2023), with music by Vassos Nicolaou. Salonen returns to the label for the first time since his recording of Stravinsky’s Persephone (2018); the San Francisco Symphony previously appeared on the 2005 Pentatone release Young America.