Composer: Béla Bartók
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Antal Dorati
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Mercury
Size: 421 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – Introduction
02. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 1st Dance: Dance of the Princess in the Forest
03. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 2nd Dance: Dance of the Trees
04. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 3rd Dance: Dance of the Waves
05. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 4th Dance: Dance of the Princess with the Wooden Doll
06. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 5th Dance: The Princess Pulls and Tugs At The Wooden Prince and Tries To Make Him Dance
07. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 6th Dance: She Tries To Attract The Real Prince With Her Seductive Dancing
08. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 (Op.13) – 7th Dance: Dismayed, the Princess Attempts To Hurry After The Prince But The Forest Bars Her Way
09. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106 – 1. Andante tranquillo
10. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106 – 2. Allegro
11. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106 – 3. Adagio
12. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106 – 4. Allegro molto
Bartok and Dorati – kindred spirits.
The Wooden Prince is just a fantastic work and Dorati’s conducting of it is masterful and the LSO sounds amazing. And the icing is Mercury Living Presence – the detail in this thing is astonishing. Everything about this performance is so fresh and vital and it’s the only one you’ll ever need. The Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta is also great – as someone else pointed out, many contenders, but Dorati would be at the top of the heap with the best of them. In short, get it already.