The recording of the ballet ?The Wooden Prince? and the symphonic poem ?Kossuth? features Hungary?s National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zoltán Kocsis. Kocsis will conduct the orchestra on recordings of all of Bartók?s other works for orchestra as well. Additionally, he will record many of Bartók?s works for piano.
Other musicians to feature on the recordings will include the pianists Edit Klukon and Dezső Ránki, the violinist Barnabás Kelemen, the cellist Miklós Perényi, and the percussionists Zoltán Rácz and Aurél Holló. The musicologist Zoltán Farkas will head the committee that selects musicians for the recordings.
Recordings for the project will be completed by 2010 and the entire series will be released in 2011. They will be grouped into five categories ? orchestral works, chamber music, songs, choral works and piano compositions. Depending on the funding for the project, the series could also include recordings of Bartók playing his own works.
The Hungarian state has allocated HUF 180 million to support the projection, being organised by the Bartók New Series Foundation.
Preparations for the series of recordings started as a private initiative by Péter Nádori, who set up a committee with members including Bartók experts László Somfai and János Kárpáti, Budapest Bartók Archives director László Vikárius, managing director of Hungaroton Records and chairman of the Hungarian Composers? Association Máté Hollós, and chairman of the Hungarian Music Council and director of the National Philharmonic Orchestra Géza Kovács.
To accompany the recordings, the committee envisioned the publication of a complete edition of Bartók?s scores.
The last series of recordings of Bartók?s complete works were made some 30 years ago by the record label Hungaroton.
Concerts and exhibitions have been organised around the world this year to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Bartók?s birth. Hungary?s National Cultural Fund has organised almost 40 events, spending HUF 305 million on concerts and conferences not only in Hungary, but in Slovakia and Serbia too.
Source: Fidelio
