Bartok, for me, is truly one of the most important composers"Bartok, for me, is truly one of the most important composers, on a par with Beethoven and Mozart."  In our interview about the piano works on this album, Hungarian pianist Denes Varjon constantly  expressed deep admiration, a keen understanding of this music, and a strong affinity with the composer's personality. For this musician, bringing Bartok closer to the audience as a person and  an artist is a labour of love. "I grew up with his music. It feels like a mother tongue to me. And I'm  interested in everything he wrote, from the earliest works to the late ones. It's so important to see the traditions he came from and to understand how he found his voice as a composer." Varjon notes that Bartok was fascinated by the simplicity and sincerity of the people who sang these songs to him. Those two traits probably corresponded with Bartok's own personality as an artist and a human being. "When I look at photos of him, what I see is a simple, sincere man; there seems to be nothing false or hypocritical in his character.He also seems highly vulnerable. Bartok spoke slowly, quite naturally, but not much. He never tried to put on a show to win his audience's favour. He was truly an authentic person. At the same time, he had the energy and temperament of a volcano rumbling inside him - an energy he harnessed with an astounding amount of sheer discipline. The result was a high degree of fascinating, unresolved tension. Bartok, like Schubert, is one of the composers I find the most moving."(Excerpts from an interview in the booklet)