{"id":67,"date":"2017-05-05T11:29:45","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T01:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/?p=67"},"modified":"2018-06-06T11:34:59","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T01:34:59","slug":"bartok-piano-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/bartok-piano-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Bartok: Piano Works"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Andor Foldes (piano)<\/h2>\n

Eloquence DGG 480 7100 (4CDs)<\/h3>\n

TPT: 212\u2019 06\u201d<\/h3>\n

reviewed by Neville Cohn<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the 1950s, South Africa was very far from the main highways of the international concert circuit. So, when Andor Foldes arrived to give concerts in Johannesburg and Cape Town, it was a visit of considerable consequence. His African itinerary began as far north as Kenya and then, travelling ever southwards, there were concerts as well in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) \u2013 in Bulawayo and then-Salisbury \u2013 and then the Union of South Africa (as it was then known).<\/p>\n

\"Bartok<\/a>Foldes played concertos with orchestras in Johannesburg and Cape Town \u2013 and the works he performed were mainstream \u2013 Mozart and Beethoven.\u00a0 But there was another, very significant, arrow to Foldes\u2019 bow.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d studied with Bartok and was a passionate advocate for his compatriot\u2019s music, specially that written for piano.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Cape Town, apart from his work with orchestra, Foldes met, and played for, members of the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT). Much of Foldes\u2019 repertoire was by Bartok which in those days was considered ultra-modern \u2013 and its performers very daring. Those piano teachers who\u2019d attended that meeting and listened to Foldes at the keyboard were agog; it was a startling, completely new sound- and mood-world which Foldes revealed.<\/p>\n

Its complex rhythmic patterns \u2013 and unusual and sometimes grating dissonances \u2013 \u00a0triggered gasps of astonishment (I was told\u00a0 later). The sonic and stylistic Bartokian world that Foldes revealed at that long-ago performance was so unexpected, so startling, even shocking, that it made an indelible impression on those present.<\/p>\n

If Foldes\u2019 intention was to carry the flag for his compatriot, it was an immensely effective way to do so.<\/p>\n

Within weeks of his visit, a shipment of some of Bartok\u2019s piano scores (brought by Union Castle Line steamers which plied weekly between Cape Town and Southampton) arrived. Far and away the most popular of these works was Bartok\u2019s Five Rumanian Dances.\u00a0 To this day in South Africa, it\u2019s very often heard in local eisteddfodau.<\/p>\n

Foldes\u2019 keyboard wizardry is abundantly present in an Eloquence 4-CD pack. It\u2019s on compact discs for the first time. It is one of most significant and worthwhile re-issues of earlier recordings in the Eloquence series.<\/p>\n

He does wonders with the material; his recordings have the stamp of the highest authority, a magnificent tribute to the composer\u2019s genius \u2013 and one of his chief interpreter\u2019s most significant offerings.<\/p>\n

Foldes plays Bartok\u2019s Out of Doors suite with an understanding of style and mood which totally engages the listener. (This was a particular favourite of the composer who frequently played it when stressed by health or financial problems. It brought him an inner peace.)<\/p>\n

Much the same can be said of just about everything in this collection. Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs is pure delight as is a confrontingly muscular account of Allegro barbaro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andor Foldes (piano) Eloquence DGG 480 7100 (4CDs) TPT: 212\u2019 06\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn   In the 1950s, South Africa was very far from the main highways of the international concert circuit. So, when Andor Foldes arrived to give<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[55],"tags":[110,111,18,17,112,114,19,16,15,113,62],"class_list":["post-67","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recordings-cds","tag-bartok","tag-bela-bartok","tag-chon","tag-cohn","tag-foldes","tag-hungarian-peasant-songs","tag-neville-chon","tag-neville-cohn","tag-perth","tag-piano-works","tag-western-australia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-15","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/beethoven-piano-sonatas-andor-foldes-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":67,"position":0},"title":"Beethoven – Piano Sonatas Andor Foldes (piano)","author":"reviewer","date":"May 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Andor Foldes (piano) Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op 13 (Pathetique); opus 28 (Pastorale); opus 31 No 2 (Tempest); opus 53 (Waldstein); opus 57 (Appassionata);opus 81a (Les Adieux); opus 101; opus 109 DGG Eloquence 482 5854 (2CDs) TPP: 79\u201926\u201d & 74\u201909\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Beethoven\u2019s Les Adieux sonata is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BEETHOVEN_Sonatas_Foldes_master","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/4825854_BEETHOVEN_Sonatas_Foldes_master-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":158,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/concert-w-a-symphony-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":67,"position":1},"title":"CONCERT W.A.Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"August 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn. \u00a0 Cedric Tiberghien is a highly accomplished pianist. 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