Critics have unfairly accused George Szell of not embracing 20th century music during his tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra. This is nonsense; Szell frequently commissioned works by young composers and championed music by Janacek, Hindemith, Bartók and Prokofiev. This recording, an entry in the Masterworks Heritage series, features Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra in Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and Prokofiev's Symphony no. 5.
Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra was commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation and premiered in 1944. Szell leads a dazzling performance of this colorful work. The orchestra's soloists shine in the tricky second movement, while the mysterious elegy that comprises the third movement is brilliantly realized. Szell also brings true Hungarian spirit to the fiery finale, with the Cleveland Orchestra's brass playing grandiosely.
Prokofiev's Symphony was written towards the end of World War II and is considered by many to be one of his finest works. The work is filled with soaring melodies, a touch of melancholy, and an epic finale. Szell and the orchestra deliver a virtuoso performance, brilliantly communicating the piece's shifting moods and grand nature.

"Having a premiere recording of Bartok on Naxos makes an unmissable bargain. His Viola Concerto was the uncompleted work which, soon after his death, Tibor Serly put together from sketches. Now Bartok's son Peter, with the scholar Paul Neubauer, has re-edited those sketches. Though the differences are small, this first recording of the revised version, superbly played, proves fascinating, sounding closer to the Concerto for Orchestra. With the rich-toned Chinese violist Xiao as soloist, that version is here presented alongside Serly's. The warmly atmospheric Two Pictures and a viola work make a good coupling."

– The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs & DVDs - 2005/6 Edition, page 114