Béla Bartók: Complete Piano Concertos album review – Tomáš Vrána rises to the challenge
Even though they are among the most challenging piano concertos in the repertory, there is no shortage of outstanding versions on disc of the three Bartók works, from Géza Anda in the 1950s to Pierre-Laurent Aimard two years ago. They are certainly ambitious works with which to launch a recording career on Supraphon, but Tomáš Vrána is undoubtedly dauntless; his performances are full of confidence, verve and faultless technical accomplishment. At times, though, they do seem rather sluggish; Vrána's tempi are often on the slow side, but the textures from the Janáček Philharmonic tend to be rather muddy too, though there is plenty of neat, alert solo playing from its wind and brass. For all his keyboard agility, Vrána seems to be at most imaginative in the concertos' slow movements, especially the central Adagio of the second, one of the most atmospheric examples of Bartók's 'night music', to which he adds wonderful colour and subtlety. The excellent sleeve notes are also written by Vrána himself.
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