Bartók 1881–1945
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
p r i d e • p a i n • j o y • seriousness • m e d i t a t i o n • h u m o u r Yehudi Menuhin Bartók 1881–1945 Cantata Profana 1 Bartók in London, January 1936 Ars poetica Only national art can be, at least at this time, genuine and Bartók: “Staat und worthwhile art. Although every age displays universal artistic Kunst” [State and elements, the way these common elements constitute a work Art], notes of a of art is naturally different and characteristic of each country. speech prepared Of course, this differentiation is accomplished only if a genuine for a 1934 meeting artist’s creative power manifests itself spontaneously in the of the League of works. After all, national art and higher art in general, Nations for example rural folk art, can only come into being spontaneously, never as a result of some mechanical, The reciprocal influence between compositions in the history of music. artificial or official intervention. A truly significant artist East and West found its greatest They never fail to be immediately will create national art through works bearing the stamp expression in Béla Bartók, the compelling and clear, displaying the of his individuality. last romantic composer. Deeply full range of human emotions, the (Bartók: “Staat und Kunst” [State and art], 1934) tied to his homeland and rooted in its heritage of living generations. Pride, cultural heritage, well versed in the pain, joy, seriousness, meditation centuries-old traditional folk music and humour —all find their enduring in almost every village, convincing expression in Bartók’s an expert on folklore, rhythms every single note, from the shortest and melodies of all countries of works of a few bars to the longest the Balkans, Turkey and the North symphonic and chamber works. African coast, Bartók was also a (Yehudi Menuhin: “Béla Bartók— highly disciplined and intellectual ein Genie im 20. Jahrhundert” man and musician. As far as intellect [Béla Bartók—a genius in the 20th and structure are concerned, his century], 1982) works belong among the greatest I am deeply interested in all peasant music and my goal is simply to capture their quintessence. Modern music does not follow the lead of folk music. Its two towering figures are Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Their roads are also divergent, Stravinsky lying closer to my Allegro barbaro for piano (1911), heart. ... I definitely consider myself a member of Ady’s generation.* the first page of the autograph (From an interview with Béla Bartók, Kassai Napló, 23 April 1926) * Endre Ady (1877–1919), the most significant Hungarian poet of his time. Childhood I was born on 25 March 1881, in Nagyszentmiklós [Sânnicolau Mare], which now, together with the whole county of Torontal, belongs to Romania. My mother gave me my first piano lessons when I was six years old. My father, who was the head of an agricultural school, was gifted musically and active in many directions. He played the piano, organized an amateur orchestra, learned the cello in order to play that instrument in his orchestra, and composed some dance music. I was eight years old when I lost him. After his death my mother had to work as a schoolmistress and struggle hard for our daily bread. ... I began writing piano music when I was nine years old and made my first public appearance as a “composer” and pianist at Nagyszöllős in 1891; it was therefore a matter of some importance for us to settle at last in a biggish town. (Bartók: “Autobiography”, 1921–23) 2 The 18-year-old student Bartók on completing his final school examinations, Pozsony, 1899 Since you left, I had to answer a question in school only once, from Latin, and I knew it ... I have come up with a new piece which will be good for Gabi. I have also added a passage to the Emma Waltz. My piano teacher didn’t come on Tuesday, but today he came and first of all wanted to see if I could play from the notes ... Then he taught me the names of 3 chords. ... (Bartók, aged 10, to his mother, 10 September 1891) Béla and Elza Bartók, his younger sister, Pozsony, 1892 Béla Bartók, Sr., Paula Voit, mother of the composer’s father the composer After his father’s untimely death, his mother, Paula Voit, took it upon herself to raise the eight-year-old boy and her younger daughter, Elza, wandering from town to town before finally settling in Pozsony (Bratislava, today in Slovakia) where young Béla received systematic musical training and finished his secondary-school studies. This summer your mummy mentioned how suffered such a lot, and I suffered also with him, and accompanied me with the exact beat. good it would be if I were to write down a few as I couldn’t do anything about the pain he was If I changed over from 3/4 to 4/4 time, things about your father’s childhood, because in. ... This rash ... lasted until he was five years he left off drumming for a moment, then that would interest you very much. [...] old. ... resumed in the proper time. Even now When he was born, your father was a very At the age of 3 he was given a drum, and I can visualize just how seriously and strong, healthy child, but after a vaccination at was very pleased with it. When I played attentively he accompanied my playing. 3 months ... he got a rash on his face ... which the piano he sat on his little chair, with (Bartók’s mother to her grandson, Béla, Jr., later spread over his entire body. The poor boy his drum in front of him on the footstool, 14 August 1921) Student at the Royal Academy of Music 3 The old building of the Academy of Music in Budapest, where Liszt’s former home can be found and in Picture postcard with the composer’s photo and greetings, 1901 which Bartók studied When my education at the Gymnasium (high From this stagnation I was roused as by a Other circumstances entered my life at the same school) was concluded ... I took [Ernő] Dohnányi’s lightning stroke by the first performance in time which proved a decisive influence on my advice and came to Budapest and became a pupil Budapest of Thus Spake Zarathustra, in 1902. development. It was the time of a new national of István Thomán (in piano) and Hans Koessler (in The work was received with real abhorrence movement in Hungary, which also took hold of composition). I stayed here from 1899 till 1903. I in musical circles here, but it filled me with art and music. In music, too, the aim was set to started studying with great enthusiasm Wagner’s the greatest enthusiasm. At last there was a create something specifically Hungarian. When work, till then unknown to me—The Ring, way of composing which seemed to hold the this movement reached me, it drew my attention Tristan, The Mastersingers—and Liszt’s orchestral seeds of a new life. At once I threw myself to studying Hungarian folk music, or, to be compositions. I got rid of the Brahmsian style, into the study of all Strauss’s scores and more precise, what at that time was considered but did not succeed via Wagner and Liszt in began again to write music myself. Hungarian folk music. finding the new way so ardently desired. ... (Bartók: “Autobiography”, 1921–23) Mr. Béla Bartók made a strong impression at the latest evening of the Vienna Music Society by his stupefying rendition of his own piano transcription from Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. The sympathetic young pianist, a virtuoso and an accomplished musician, absorbed the extremely complex work of the now famous composer and performed it on the piano as something originating in his own experience. The art, immediacy and freshness of this tour de force was a huge success. (Neue Freie Presse, quoted in Pressburger Zeitung, 13 February 1903) Liszt pupil István Thomán surrounded by his students at the Academy of Music, 1901 (Bartók is standing in the rear, third from left) Composer of the Kossuth Symphony Everyone, on reaching maturity, has to set himself a goal and must direct all his work and actions towards this. For my own part, all my life, in every sphere, always and in every way, I shall have one objective: the good of Hungary and the Hungarian nation. I think I have already given some proof of this intention in the little ways that have been possible to me. To the memory of my first concert: (Bartók to his mother, 8 September 1903) the composer of the Kossuth Symphony in Hungarian attire, 903 1903 I propose (and I surely expect that this proposal will meet general approval) that my sister* be called Böske from now on. It is of course 4unacceptable that one member of this Hungarian family is called by a standard Germanic name when there is a perfectly acceptable Hungarian substitute for it. (Bartók to his mother, 12 June 1903) * Elza Bartók After the Kossuth Symphony’s hugely successful Budapest première, followed by a Manchester performance under the baton of Hans Richter, both in 1904, Bartók soon rejected his composition and never again did he allow it to be performed. —Which is the first composition you truly consider your own? He. The Fourteen Pieces for Piano. The First Quartet. The Kossuth Symphony, the Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, Op. 1 and the Suite —The Kossuth Symphony? No. 1, Op. 3, all border on the Erkel–Liszt kind of Hungarianism.