Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra & Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

“If you're unfamiliar with these seminal mid-20th century works, here's an unmissable chance of getting to know it.” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 *****

“Warmth and vitality are appropriate keywords for this coupling, a practical Bartok primer you might say, well played, persuasively interpreted and nicely recorded...In the Concerto for Orchestra's first movement Marin Alsop and her players generate plenty of energy...a fine bargain and a credible starting point for those wanting to dip a toe into Bartokian waters.” --Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“the music seems to have been conceived with the upfront style of American orchestral playing in mind...[Alsop's] account of the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta...is very impressive, controlled and pungent, albeit without quite the expressionist edge that the music sometimes needs.” --The Guardian, 10th May 2012 ***

“Her orchestra's precision here is enviable, with crisp ensemble playing and solo voices of considerable character. The sound is not particularly full-bodied but neither is it bloated - rather, it is to some extent reminiscent of the finest American orchestras of past decades in privileging nuance above raw power.” --International Record Review, May 2012

“This muscular and thrilling recording amply demonstrates why Marin Alsop is such a sought after conductor and why the Baltimore Symphony is so highly thought of all over the world.” --MusicWeb International, July 2012