Liasons Vol. 1

"Croatian pianist Dejan Lazic kicks off the first of a provocative series of recordings with a delicious concert of Scarlatti and Bartók. In its gentle way, especially in performances of the beautiful clarity and poetry, it reminds me of a conversation I once had with Peter Bartók, the composer's son, in which as a child he recalled falling asleep while his father played lullabies in an adjoining room...The concept itself makes a lot of sense, not the least of which was that Scarlatti, a selection of whose sonatas were edited by the Hungarian composer for publication by Editio Musica in Budapest, often figured in Bartók's recitals...The sound is exquisite in conventional stereo, and drop-dead gorgeous in SACD surround mode. Each of the Scarlatti sonatas provides a unique listening test for demonstrating your system, while the transcription of a seven-minute long Funeral March from Bartók's symphonic poem Kossuth, provides a profoundly exciting workout."
(AudAud.com Feb 2008)

At first sight, they appear to have nothing in common - but disregarding the stylistic elements and a difference of 2 centuries, you soon recognize that both are in a sense, musical architects, who as piano virtuosos were equally interested in miniature forms and inspired by folk music. On the one hand you have Scarlatti, who, after moving to Spain in 1729 composed almost exclusively for harpsichord and integrated elements of Spanish folklore into his compositions in an experimental way; on the other hand Bartók, who boosted the recognition of the rich native Hungarian peasant songs to an independent folk art, and was also influenced by Arabic folk music.