Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin & Violin Concerto No. 2

Featuring

Michael Gielen
Ernst Kovacic
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien
Béla Bartók

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

Violinist Ernst Kovacic has had many works written for him by contemporary composers, including Ernst Krenek, Friedrich Cerha, and György Ligeti.

Composition History

Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2 was commissioned by violinist Zoltán Székely, who requested a three-movement structure instead of Bartók's initial one-movement variation concept.

Recording & Production

This album features live recordings from the Musikverein Wien, with The Miraculous Mandarin recorded in 1992 and the Violin Concerto No. 2 in 1995.

Critical Reception

The premiere of The Miraculous Mandarin in Cologne in 1926 caused a theater scandal with booing and a disastrous press response, leading to its immediate cancellation by Mayor Konrad Adenauer.

Composition History

Béla Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin, a pantomime-grotesque, was based on a libretto by Hungarian playwright and journalist Menyhért Lengyel.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bartók intended The Miraculous Mandarin to express 'mental processes' and have a strong psychological component, tracing the complex emotional states of its characters.

Performer Biography

Conductor Michael Gielen, born in Dresden in 1927, began his career as a répétiteur at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where his family had emigrated.