“This continues what I hope will be a set of Bartok’s major orchestral works with the Helsinki Philharmonic led by Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki. The high quality of the series is certainly maintained here… [Concerto for Orchestra] an excellent, though-out performance that rivals the best. The same can be said for the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste… MSPC can be a difficult piece for someone unfamiliar with Bartok to take in, especially in performances that stress its modernism. Malkki does not ignore that quality, but her phrasing and control combine to make the work more accessible than it sometimes is… BIS’s sound is excellent…”

Recommended

“Superb performances of Bartók’s two substantial works.”

Orchestral Choice

Performance *****      Recording *****

“… Susanna Mälkki and her Helsinki Philharmonic offer performances that are at once satisfying, dazzling and individual. There’s a poise, indeed an elegance, to the basic good posture of these interpretations, held on a taut reign, with shifts of energy splendidly controlled and unshakable technical excellence worn nonchalantly …”

Artistic Quality 10      Sound Quality 10

“…BIS has captured the entire production in powerfully present, tactile sound that really lets you hear down through the ensemble, from top to bottom. This really is an exceptional release. If you love this music, be sure to hear it.”

“… Orchestral execution in both works is superb: strings play with enviable unanimity and a broad variety of colors and hues. Sample the sinewy and muted timbre heard in the first movement of the Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta (MSPC), and then the laser focused, brightly lit colors in the following Allegro. They dispatch Bartok’s angular writing with impressive agility, and I greatly enjoyed the ferocity used in the music’s many pizzicato passages…”

“…  an absolute winner... ”