On the Making of a “Definitive Recording” of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra

Type of Abstract (select): Individual Presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
That the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 1955 recording of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra is today viewed as a definitive source is perhaps well-known among scholars, performers, and enthusiasts alike, particularly in the United States. But how did it earn that designation, and what does that appellation really mean when numerous recordings of merit exist? For example, the work’s early recording history includes two others that may be considered “authentic editions,” as the conductors each had intimate knowledge of Bartók’s unpublished score and corrections. Koussevitzky’s 1944 live recording holds significance as the first and likely the only surviving one made in the composer’s lifetime, and Reiner’s 1946 recording with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was the work’s first commercial recording.
Drawing on numerous recordings, historical and contemporary reviews, and Reiner’s own writings and interviews, this paper offers a more nuanced understanding of the CSO recording’s enduring prominence. Improved recording technologies in the 1950s as well as the orchestra’s apparent musicianship certainly eschew potential “distortions,” lending to the recording’s perceived supremacy, but period perceptions of Reiner’s supposed insider knowledge of Bartók’s “intentions” among the musical press likewise bolstered its status as the unadulterated recorded standard. By situating the CSO’s recording in the context of these tangible and rhetorical factors, I suggest a critical assessment of its assumed authenticity, highlighting the concerted and constructed nature of the recording’s legacy and the “finality” of recorded editions themselves.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Sarah M. Lucas serves as Musicology Area Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (USA). Lucas also serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Hungarian Cultural Studies, on the Board of Directors of the American Hungarian Educators Association, and as Secretary for the American Musicological Society’s Southwest Chapter. She earned a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Iowa (2018) and conducted dissertation research as a Fulbright affiliate of the Budapest Bartók Archives at the Hungarian Institute of Musicology (2016-2017).