Kocsis Plays Bartok / Philips 8CDs

To those who've despaired of piecing together Zoltan Kocsis' unprecedented solo Bartók cycle from various deleted single-disc releases, take heart. Here it is, all eight discs, housed in a slim-line, budget-priced boxed set, with terrific annotations to boot. From the simplest Mikrokosmos to the most taxing moments in the Etudes, Sonata, and Out of Doors suite, Kocsis realizes Bartók's intentions with extraordinary specificity in regard to pianism per se and score-reading. He takes the composer's exacting timings and metronome markings on faith, yet he also gives serious consideration to variant readings based on Bartók's own recorded performances. Most of all, Kocsis' thoroughly internalized command of Bartók's speech-like syntax brings out the music's lyrical underside that many percussive Bartók players either ignore or don't know exists. Mezzo-soprano Marta Lukin admirably helps out in the Mikrokosmos selections for which the composer suggests a vocal line, while Karoly Mocsari joins in on the six that require a second piano.For comprehensiveness, sonic quality, and interpretation, this set has no peer (with all due respect to György Sandor's authoritative Bartók legacy), and is not likely to be surpassed in the near future. This is the Bartók piano music Bible; don't let it slip away. 

– Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com [1/17/2006]

1.      Mikrokosmos, Sz 107 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1926-1939; Budapest, Hungary
       
2.      Bagatelles (14) for Piano, Op. 6/Sz 38 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908; Budapest, Hungary
       
3.      Elegies (2) for Piano, Op. 8b/Sz 41 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908-1909; Budapest, Hungary
       
4.      Romanian Folkdances (6) for Piano, Sz 56 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1915; Budapest, Hungary
       
5.      Sonatina for Piano, Sz 55 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1915; Budapest, Hungary
       
6.      Romanian Dances (2) for Piano, Op. 8a/Sz 43 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909-1910; Budapest, Hungary
       
7.      Hungarian Folktunes (3) for Piano, Sz 66 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1918; Budapest, Hungary
       
8.      Allegro barbaro for Piano, Sz 49 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1911; Budapest, Hungary
       
9.      Dirges (4) for Piano, Op. 9a/Sz 45 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909-1910; Budapest, Hungary
       
10.      Suite for Piano, Op. 14/Sz 62 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1916; Budapest, Hungary
       
11.      Romanian Christmas Carols for Piano, Sz 57 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1915; Budapest, Hungary
       
12.      Etudes (3) for Piano, Op. 18/Sz 72 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1918; Budapest, Hungary
       
13.      Rondos (3) on Slovak folktunes for Piano, Sz 84 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1916-1927; Budapest, Hungary
       
14.      For Children, Sz 42 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909/1945; Budapest, Hungary
       
15.      The First Term at the Piano, Sz 53 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1913-1929; Hungary
       
16.      Sonata for Piano, Sz 80 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1926; Budapest, Hungary
       
17.      Out of Doors, Sz 81 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1926; Budapest, Hungary
       
18.      Little Pieces (9) for Piano, Sz 82 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1926; Budapest, Hungary
       
19.      Petite Suite for Piano, Sz 105 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1936; Budapest, Hungary
       
20.      Burlesques (3) for Piano, Op. 8c/Sz 47 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908-1911; Budapest, Hungary
       
21.      Sketches (7) for Piano, Op. 9b/Sz 44 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908-1910; Budapest, Hungary
       
22.      Hungarian Peasant Songs (15) for Piano, Sz 71 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1918; Budapest, Hungary
       
23.      Improvisations (8) on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20/Sz 74 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1920; Budapest, Hungary
       
24.      Easy Pieces (10) for Piano, Sz 39 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908; Budapest, Hungary
       
25.      Dance Suite for Piano, Sz 77 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1925; Budapest, Hungary
       
26.      Rhapsody for Piano, Op. 1/BB 36a by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1904; Budapest, Hungary
       
27.      Pieces (4) for Piano, DD 71 by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1903; Budapest, Hungary
       
28.      Kossuth, Sz 21: Marche funèbre by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1903; Budapest, Hungary
       
29.      Rhapsody for Piano, Op. 1/BB 36a by Béla Bartók
Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1904; Budapest, Hungary