Bartók: The Wooden Prince / Cantata Profana
Pierre Boulez has recorded all of this music before, and very  successfully. Those recordings are available at mid-price on Sony, and though  the recorded sound is a bit better on these newer discs, you can't really go  wrong either way. Boulez has always brought a special measure of incisiveness  and clarity to Bartók, sometimes at the cost of a certain emotional warmth--but  that's not a criticism that applies to this pair of immaculately played  performances. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra knows this music as well as any  orchestra in the world, and its chorus is one of the country's finest. So if the  coupling appeals to you, go for it!--David Hurwitz