Kosmos Bartók – An NDR Festival

When Polish composer Witold Lutosławski described his Hungarian colleague Béla Bartók as »a key figure in 20th century music«, he certainly was not exaggerating. As a composer and music ethnologist, Bartók managed to combine the traditions of classical music and folk music with contemporary achievements, and the outcome was a style that hit exactly the right tone between popular and sophisticated. As a pianist and teacher, too, he influenced whole generations of piano pupils. No wonder musicians immerse themselves with passion to this day in the unique »Bartók Cosmos«. Two such are Alan Gilbert and Igor Levit, who perform a number of the composer’s works at the NDR Festival, among them the third piano concertos.