# 100 Favorites: # 4



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

*Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
James Levine, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (DG)*










If I told you blind that I'd chosen Bartók's _Concerto for Orchestra_ and the _Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta_ as performed by the Chicago SO, I think most people would assume that I'd picked the famous Fritz Reiner account. But, as ESPN's Lee Corso would say, _"Not so fast!"_ Yeah, Reiner's version is fantastic. But I bought Levine's recording when I was in grad school, when my music collection was much smaller and I was just beginning to explore classical music. Back then, I played this Bartók/Levine/CSO disc over and over and over again. So this music is burned on my brain.

Incidentally, I also strongly considered Pierre Boulez's _Concerto for Orchestra_ with the NYPO (CBS/Sony). It's another Bartók recording that I love. But I've never heard Boulez's _Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta_, and I need both works on my proverbial desert island.


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