A Wife's Legacy

Bartok, the Piano Concertos by Andras Schiff with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer. Pretty definitive performances of all three concertos. I don't necessarily go along with the idea that a performance is automatically better if it is by artists of the same nationality as the composer but admit that is often the case. Bartok's first two piano concertos were written to be performed by himself and ver towards a more modernist approach that has meant they have struggled to establish a permanent place in the repertoire. They don't have too many flashy virtuoso show off segments to appeal to "star" solists and audiences but Schiff brings out the musicality. The third concerto looks back to a more classical form and remains the most popular. It also has a poignant story to hang onto it and make it easier to programme. It was Bartok's final work written in exile and in straightened financial circumstances in the USA during WW2 and the story is that it was written for his wife to perform to provide a viable legacy for her once he had died. In the event, she was unable to bring herself to play it.