Star violinist Christian Tetzlaff performs Bela Bartok’s (1881–1945) two masterpieces in a new recording with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu. This recording continues both artists’ highly successful series of recordings on Ondine. The two violin concertos of Bela Bartok (1881–1945), completed thirty years apart in 1908 and 1938 respectively, celebrated relationships with two Hungarian violinists: the first romantic, with Stefi Geyer and the second artistic, with Zoltan Szekely. Bartok’s 1st Violin Concerto was published posthumously after the composer’s death in 1956, but Bartok reused the opening movement as the first of his Two Portraits for orchestra. He remarked in a letter written in late 1907 or early 1908 that ‘I have never written such direct music before’. Bartok completed two movements that portray the character of Stefi Geyer to whom the work was written to. Completed towards the end of 1938, Bartok’s thre...