Béla Bartók is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century, the creator of a body of works as immense as it is complex. He was passionate about Hungarian folk music and carried out serious ethnological research in the field, his interest stemming not from romantic sentimentality, but from a fascination with its simplicity and spontaneity. Bartók was constantly seeking to deepen his art as a composer, as can be seen from his numerous changes in style. From his final period comes the Concerto for Orchestra, a work which, more than any other perhaps, helped increase his popularity.

Artists
András Schiff (piano), Katia Labèque (piano), Marielle Labèque (piano), Yehudi Menuhin (violin, viola), Stockholmer Kammerchor, Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), John Tomlinson (bass), Sylvio Gualda (percussion), Jean-Pierre Drouet (percussion), Itzhak Perlman (violin), Pinchas Zukerman (violin), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Martha Argerich (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin), Oleg Maisenberg (piano), Chantal Juillet (violin), Michael Collins (clarinet), Alban Berg Quartett (string quartet), Desző Ránki (piano), Michel Béroff (piano), Samson François (piano), György Sebök (piano), Vilde Frang (violin), Gautier Capuçon (cello), Kálmán Berkes (clarinet), Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute), Robert Veyron-Lacroix (piano), Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Christian Rivet (guitar), Vadim Repin (violin), Boris Berezovsky (piano), Georges Pludermacher (piano), Jean-François Heisser (piano), Adelphi Saxophone Quartet, Béla Bartók (piano), André Gertler (violin), Lili Kraus (piano)

Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Charles Bruck, James Conlon, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Franz Welser-Möst, Mariss Jansons, Constantin Silvestri, Iván Fischer, Sir Simon Rattle, Antal Dorati, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Wilhelm Furtwängler