Bartók: Violin Works Complete

André Gertler (1907-1998), a Hungarian violinist who emigrated to Belgium in 1928, ranks among the remarkable artistic personalities of the 20th century. He was renowned chiefly for his interpretation of the violin works of Béla Bartók, many of which he premiered. Gertler also performed in concert together with Bartók in the years 1925-1938, establishing his well-deserved reputation as a Bartók specialist. In 1952 he started to be a frequent guest artist at the Prague Spring festival, and in the mid-1960's he recorded Bartók's complete works for violin and piano and for violin and orchestra. This set, which Gertler recorded for Supraphon, met with lavish praise immediately following its release, winning the 1966 Grand Prix du Disque de l'Academie Charles Cros in Paris. This sensitively remastered edition makes these artistically and technically brilliant recordings available to the public once again.