Бела Барток: Оркестрге арналған концерт (Béla Bartók: Orkeştrge arnalğan kontsert)

Orchestral work by Béla Bartók

The Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123, is a five movement orchestral work composed by Béla Bartók in 1943. It is one of his best known, most popular, and most accessible works. The score is inscribed "15 August – 8 October 1943". It was premiered on December 1, 1944, in Symphony Hall, Boston, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. It was a great success and has been regularly performed since.

The work was written in response to a commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation (run by the conductor Serge Koussevitzky) following Bartók's move to the United States from his native Hungary, which he had fled because of World War II. It has been speculated that Bartók's previous work, the String Quartet No. 6 (1939), could well have been his last were it not for this commission, which sparked a small number of other compositions, including his Sonata for Solo Violin and Piano Concerto No. 3.

The third movement, "Elegia", is another slow movement, typical of Bartók's so called "Night music". The movement revolves around three themes which derive primarily from the first movement. which had recently also been referenced in the 'invasion' theme of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad". Whether Bartók was parodying Lehár, Shostakovich, or both has been hotly disputed, without any clinching evidence either way. The theme is itself interrupted by glissandi on the trombones and woodwinds. In this movement, the timpani are featured when the second theme is introduced, requiring 10 different pitches of the timpani over the course of 20 seconds. The general structure is "ABA–interruption–BA." Columbia Records released a recording with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. 12 inch LP recording. Columbia ML 4973 (monaural). New York: Columbia. In 1958, RCA Victor issued a recording with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 12 inch LP recording. RCA Victor LSC 1934
In 1956, Decca Records released a recording with Ernest Ansermet conducting the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, also including Frank Martin's Concerto for seven winds, percussion, and string orchestra. Decca LXT 5305; London CS 6086; Decca Eclipse (stereo). London: Decca. In 1959, EMI Records released a recording with Rafael Kubelik conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, also including Bartók's Two Portraits, Op. 5. 12 inch LP recording. HMV ASD 312 (stereo). UK: His Master's Voice. In 1960, Columbia Records released a recording with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded at St. George Hotel, Brooklyn, New York, November 30, 1959. 12 inch LP recording. Columbia MS 6140 (stereo). New York: Columbia Records. In 1962, RCA Victor released a recording with Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, made in Symphony Hall, Boston. 12 inch LP recording. RCA Victor LSC 2643. New York: RCA Victor. 1963, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Karel Ančerl. Dvorak Hall, Prague. Supraphon. In 1965, Columbia Records released a recording with George Szell conducting the Cleveland Orchestra, also including Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta. 12 inch LP recording. Columbia ML 6215 (stereo). New York: Columbia. In 1965, Decca Records released a recording with Georg Solti conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. 12 inch LP recording. Decca SXL 6212 (stereo). In 1979, RCA Red Seal released the first digital recording of the work with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. RCA Red Seal ARC1 3421
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, Chicago in January 1981, Sir Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Digital recording, coupled with Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Ravel, Decca 417 754–2. In 2012, Naxos Records released a recording with Marin Alsop conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in addition to Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. Digital recording. Naxos 8.572486.

In 1985, Peter Bartók, son of the composer, discovered a manuscript of a piano, two hands reduction of the score, in the large body of material which had been left to him upon his father's death. This version had been prepared for rehearsals of a ballet interpretation of the Concerto, to be performed by the Ballet Theatre in New York. This performance never took place, and the piano score was shelved. Soon after the discovery of this manuscript, Peter Bartók asked the Hungarian pianist György Sándor to prepare the manuscript for publication and performance. The world premiere recording of this edited reduction was made by György Sándor in 1987, on CBS Masterworks: the CD also includes piano versions of the Dance Suite, Sz. 77 and Petite Suite, Sz. 105, which was adapted from some of the 44 Violin Duos.