The American pianist Murray Perahia created an amazing recording here. The Sonata from 1926 and the Suite op 14 are considered major works for solo piano by Bartók and his performance of them is superb. It also shows the way Bartók was treating the piano as a percussion instrument. Although not many people realise this, but essentially it is just that: the keys of the keyboard are just a convenient way to hit the strings, with hammers. With very intricate rhythms and exotic scales Bartóks work is like an intellectual challenge. For me it is like his string quartets: a challenge with a good payoff.
I’ve seen Murray Perahia as part of a so called master pianist series in the Concertgebouw. Although quite a long time ago, I have good memories about it, and I was quite impressed. I don’t think it was Bartók, as the series was quite traditional. A pity I would say. This is not easy music if you’re not well versed in classical music. However, if you are interested, the exciting rhythms make this very enjoyable.