Iva Bittová and Dorothea Kellerová

Iva Bittová and Dorothea Kellerová

Béla Bartók: Iva Bittová, Dorothea Kellerová. 44 Duets For Two Violins (Rachot Behémót R-0011, 1997)

This fascinating recording from 1997 of Bartók violin duets offers a convincing and engaging mix of playing, singing and using the violin as a percussion instrument without losing—if anything enhancing—the folk character of these miniatures. Only one track is available online at the time of writing, and copies of the original CD are hard to find (though well-worth seeking out). But it offers an encouraging model for contemporary performers seeking new ways of becoming more viscerally involved in communicating music which too often, in the concert hall, becomes merely respectable.