Bartók: The Wooden Prince; Dance Suite / Măcelaru, WDR Symphony Orchestra

$15.99
Label
Linn Records
Release Date
March 10, 2023
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Bela Bartok
    • PERFORMER
      Cristian Macelaru, Wdr Sinfonieorchester
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      March 10, 2023
    • UPC
      691062071420
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      CKD714
    • LABEL
      Linn Records
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. Opening -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    2. First Dance: Dance of the Princess in the Forest -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    3. The Prince Meets the Fairy and Sees the Princess -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    4. Second Dance: Dance of the Trees -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    5. Third Dance: Dance of the Waves -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    6. The Prince Has an Idea -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    7. Fourth Dance: Dance of the Princess with the Wooden Prince -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    8. The Prince is in Despair -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    9. Restored from His Lassitude the Prince Walks

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    10. Fifth Dance: The Princess Prods and Encourages the Wooden Prince to Dance -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    11. Sixth Dance: With an Alluring Dance, the Princess Tries to Appeal to the Prince -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    12. Seventh Dance: The Despair of the Princess -

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    13. The Happy Ending

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    14. I. Moderato

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    15. II. Allegro molto

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    16. III. Allegro vivace

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    17. IV. Molto tranquillo

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    18. V. Commodo

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru

    19. VI. Finale

      Composer: Béla Bartók

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru


Following their first album for Linn (Dvorák: Legends Op. 59, Czech Suite Op. 39), the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Cristian Măcelaru pursue the same folk vein with two orchestral works by Béla Bartók. Based on a rather childish tale (prince, princess, fairies, and of course a happy ending!), the music of the ballet The Wooden Prince – recorded in full here – has all the ingredients of a masterpiece: masterful scoring for large forces, use of musical themes, an effortless amalgam of folk and late-Romantic elements.

Composed in 1923 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the merging of the towns of Buda and Pest – alongside commissions by Ernö Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály – the century-old Dance Suite is a six-movement work that has become one of Bartók’s best known compositions. Born in Timișoara, a short distance from Hungary, Măcelaru can boast an unparalleled understanding of Bartók, as evident here.

REVIEW:

For overall quality Măcelaru rivals Mälkki, and comparing the two readings episode by episode, one is as likely as the other to convey a little more mood and color. But neither really has the freshness of discovery and excitement heard in Boulez’s first account on Sony, and neither of the two orchestras, the WDR Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic, approaches Boulez’s spectacular results with the New York Philharmonic.

Măcelaru is up against it again in the Dance Suite, which has had outstanding recordings from Fricsay, Boulez, Solti, and Iván Fischer, among others. Less raw than Solti, Măcelaru shows himself a master of the score in a reading that crackles with aliveness and presence. He gets animated playing from the Cologne musicians, and you quickly forget that they are not on a par with eminent ensembles in this music.

I was captivated from start to finish, and more importantly, I got a bead on Măcelaru beyond my only other exposure to him, in the Shostakovich piano concertos. There’s no reason not to give this release the same enthusiastic praise that has become the norm for Măcelaru. The recorded sound is full, vivid, and lifelike.

-- Fanfare