"Complete" not only refers to all of Bartók's original solo piano music gathered on five CDs, but also to György Sandor's mastery over every aspect of his one-time teacher's wide-ranging keyboard oeuvre. These 1963 recordings generally find Sandor on more incisive, agile form than in his early-1990s solo Bartók remakes for Sony. Sandor's singing tone, sense of color, and inborn legato are always evident, from the most violent percussive clusters in the Etudes, Burlesques, Sonata, and Improvisations down to the simplest teaching pieces. He takes the time and trouble to play the didactic and undemanding first two books of Mikrokosmos like music rather than mere exercises. At the same time, Sandor's vibrant sense of rhythm and effortless, flexible technique generate equal doses of beauty and excitement in the Sonatina, the Nine Little Pieces, Allegro Barbaro, the Out of Doors Suite, and Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm. As you listen to Sandor's gorgeous shadings and textural control in the Two Elegies the composer's debt to Debussy becomes crystal clear. Sonically speaking, the Vox sessions wear their age gracefully in these new transfers, although it was necessary to copy Disc 5's selections from vinyl pressings, due to missing master tapes. One gripe qualifies my recommendation: multi-movement works are not individually tracked. You have to futz around with your fast forward and reverse buttons to access specific movements or pieces, just like in the bad old days of cassettes. --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com