Bartók, Béla (EN)

Bartók Béla, *25 March 1881 Nagyszentmiklós (Hungary, now Sînnicolaul Mare, Romania), †26 September 1945 New York, Hungarian composer, pianist and musical ethnographer. His father was an economist and his mother was a teacher; Bartók took his first music lessons from her. He composed from the age of 9. He had his first public performance in 1892 in Nagyszőllős (now Vynohradiv, Ukraine), where he moved with his mother after his father’s death. Then he performed his Course of the Danube. Two years later, he began regular music studies in Bratislava with L. Erkel and A. Hyrtel. In 1899, he was admitted to the Academy of Music in Budapest, where he was a student of I. Thomán (piano), J. Koessler (composition) and F. Szabó (orchestration). At that time, he was already an author of numerous works, written under the influence of Brahms; having been critical of them, he gave up composition for a while and devoted himself to piano playing. He returned to composition in 1902, after hearing a symphonic poem Thus Spoke Zarathustra by R. Strauss; from then on, his work was characterised by the most advanced sound means of neo-romanticism and referred mainly to R. Strauss and F. Liszt, to gradually acquire original and innovative features.

Bartók’s patriotism and his ambition to create a modern national style in Hungarian music also led him to overtly stylise the rhythms and motifs of popular national melodies. He gained enormous success and fame throughout the country with his symphonic poem Kossuth, performed in 1904 in Budapest and then in England by the Hallé orchestra conducted by H. Richter.

At the same time, Bartók’s position as a pianist was strengthening, as he was also giving concerts outside of Hungary. In 1907, he became a professor of piano at the Academy of Music in Budapest. In 1904, he encountered authentic Hungarian peasant music for the first time, untainted by urban influencers and fundamentally different from popular Hungarian melodies, performed mainly by gipsy bands and wrongly identified with folklore. This discovery aroused in him a new great passion – recording, researching and promoting authentic Hungarian countryside music. Taking advantage of Z. Kodály’s experience, he began systematic journeys around the country with a phonograph, recording the oldest and most original folk melodies, foreign to professional patterns based on the major-minor system. This action, initially undertaken for emotional and patriotic reasons, soon turned into a serious scientific work for Bartók, prompting him to thoroughly research and systematise musical folklore. As an experienced collector and author of theoretical works in this field, Bartók soon became one of the most outstanding and original creators of contemporary musical ethnography in the world. He expanded his interests to include Slovak folklore (he systematically collected these melodies since 1906), Romanian folklore (since 1909) and other Balkan countries, as well as Arabic and Turkish folklore. In search of material, he made two research expeditions outside Europe: in 1914 he recorded melodies in Algeria, and 1936 in Turkey.

Interest in folklore also had a significant impact on Bartók’s compositional work, prompting him to finally break with the convention of the major-minor system and the aesthetics of Romanticism. The free use of motifs arising from various scale and interval systems, the conciseness and explicitness of musical expression typical of folk melodies and rhythms, and foreign to the expressive poetics shaped by the 19th century, and finally the boldness of dissonant harmonic chords – all this contributed to Bartók’s new, original musical language. Bagatelles Op. 6 for piano (1908) were the boldest challenge to traditional music after Debussy’s revolutionary ideas.

In the following years, Bartók remained one of the most radical renovators of the musical language, alongside Schoenberg, Webern and Stravinsky – although he was not yet known and appreciated in the world. The new songs were met with complete misunderstanding in Hungary; The opera Bluebeard’s Castle, written in 1911, was rejected by the management of the Budapest Opera House, which caused a deep mental crisis for the composer. Only the success of the ballet The Wooden Prince in 1917 changed Bartók’s position in the country and released new creative energy in the composer. After World War I, the period of his most radical sonic and stylistic ideas began; it opens with the ballet The Miraculous Mandarin, Improvisations for piano Op. 20 and 2 violin sonatas. By this time, Bartók’s work had already become famous around the world and he was soon recognised as one of the leading contemporary composers. His works have been performed at almost all festivals of the International Society of Contemporary Music; his stage works were performed in Germany (however, the premiere of The Miraculous Mandarin in Cologne in 1926 ended in a scandal). In 1924, Bartók resigned from his position as professor at the Academy of Music and accepted a job at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, preparing a complete collection of Hungarian folk songs for publication. As a pianist, he performed in many European cities, performing his solo works, the piano part of violin sonatas and the 1^st and 2^nd Piano Concertos (including in Warsaw 1927 and Lviv 1936), and also gave concerts in the USSR and the USA. From 1938, he performed with his second wife, pianist Ditta Pásztory, performing, among others, a Sonata for 2 pianos and percussion.

Violin Concerto No. 2 (1938) opens the last period of Bartók’s work, characterised by a partial return to tradition and a synthesis of very different stylistic means. Unable to come to terms with Hungary’s alliance with Nazi Germany and the country’s progressive fascism, Bartók emigrated with his wife to the USA in 1940 and began teaching at Columbia University in New York and working on the classification and transcription of Serbo-Croatian folk music from recordings belonging to Cambridge University. After terminating his contract with the university and not receiving concert engagements, he found himself in a difficult financial situation, which was changed only in 1943 by S. Kusevitsky’s commission for a Concerto for Orchestra. He died of leukaemia in New York’s West Side Hospital.

Bartók’s work is very diverse and complex in terms of means, style and expression, although it always reveals extremely strong individual features. First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between artistic arrangements of folk melodies and original compositions. Numerous arrangements of Hungarian, Romanian and Slovak melodies for piano and for voice with piano or choir refer to a large extent to traditional harmony, although at the same time, they present it in a new, deformed form. The core of Bartók’s work are original compositions in which he does not use folk melodies, but only certain rhythmic and melodic features borrowed from folklore. The influence of folklore (Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, sometimes Arab) is rarely expressed in overt stylization; the folk pattern is highly processed and embedded in Bartók’s individual sound language, integrally combining with his innovative ideas, which is especially visible in melody and harmony. In melody, Bartók moved away from the traditional schematism of the major and minor modes, as well as from the neo-romantic chromaticism that arose from them; he introduced elements of various modal scales found in folklore and their rich combinations. In individual sections of the melody, Bartók successively uses bimodalisms (e.g. Lydian phrases next to Aeolian ones), which results in an expansion of the sound material while maintaining the autonomous character of the changing diatonic degrees. The close occurrence of these variable degrees (e.g. E-flat-F next to E-F-sharp) in practice often leads to the development of a 12-tone scale. According to Bartók, “this treatment of the diatonic series led to liberation from the fossilised major-minor scale and, consequently, to completely free operation of each individual note of our chromatic twelve-tone system” (Autobiography, 1921).

Bartók’s music oscillates between strict diatonic and pentatonic and a consistent 12-tone scale. In the latter case, the scale is usually implemented in a tight semitone system: the melody runs in a winding movement and in small interval steps, using all chromatic degrees located next to each other. These degrees are autonomous. Unlike Schoenberg’s school, Bartók does not treat the 12-tone scale in an atonal way, but establishes a noticeable hierarchy of importance of the individual notes of the melody, emphasising the central sound, which plays a role similar to the traditional tonic.

In Bartók’s work, a 12-tone series can be occasionally encountered (Violin Concerto No. 2, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, String Quartet No. 2, Piano Suite Op. 14, and even the youthful Sonata for Violin and Piano from 1903), but they do not play a form-creating role, as in dodecaphonic works, and are shaped tonally. One can find clear tonal centralisation in almost all of Bartók’s sound arrangements, even the most daring ones, although it is mostly implemented by means independent of the traditional system.

Bartók became the greatest innovator in the field of harmonics: his boldness of harmonic ideas surpassed that of his contemporaries, introducing previously unknown sonic and technical means. The range of chords he uses is huge: from three-note and four-note thirds, through complex multi-note structures using various intervals, to fourth chords and chords consisting of only minor seconds and major sevenths.

An extreme case is clusters, often reaching as many as 12 sounds, harmonising in a tight, semitone arrangement; the most striking example of this is the middle episode of the Piano Concerto No.2, based on several dozen bars on the full 12-tone harmonica. Bartók’s selection of chords is always subordinated to both the logic of sound steps and the intended sound and expressive effects. In organising the harmonic course, Bartók tends to stabilise certain selected formulas in individual sections of the piece, often of an ostinato nature, emphasising the central chord and the group of sounds surrounding it, or maintaining the selected principle of interval movement. He also often introduces linear independence of voices or separate harmonic layers, in bitonal and bimodal arrangements (this technique was initiated by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Szymanowski and Milhaud). An interesting overview of rich harmonic means is presented by his pedagogical cycle of 153 piano pieces, Mikrokosmos.

In terms of instrumental sound, Bartók is particularly innovative in his use of string instruments, from which he extracts many new varieties of articulation (including sharp pizzicato with the string hitting the fretboard and glissando used as the basis for shaping the musical phrase; long episodes in the Third and Fourth Quartets are based only on waving and crossing glissandos). Bartók used the percussion in a new way, enriching its colour nuances (the introduction of the percussion in the second movement of the Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion), juxtaposing it with the sound of the piano (Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion, Piano Concerto No. 1) and the solo violin (Violin Concerto No. 2). He also created a new style of piano music; he treated this instrument in a sharp, hard, percussive way, extracting from it the most individual type of sound and texture, after the achievements of Debussy and Ravel. When using the orchestra, Bartók sometimes achieves very bold effects of a glissando-murmur type, anticipating contemporary sonoristic experiences (Suite Op. 3, stage works, Music for stringed instruments, percussion and celesta). An important element in Bartók’s music is the strongly emphasised rhythm, which largely determines the sharp, spontaneous expressiveness of his style. It is revealed both in a simple, motor form and (from 1918) in complex, sophisticated arrangements that break away from metric patterns and reveal – in the irregular arrangement of accents and pauses – the influence of Stravinsky. Bartók also repeatedly used the so-called aksak rhythms, i.e. based on the alternation of binary and triple motifs. Next to Stravinsky and Prokofiev, Bartók became the main restorer of rhythm in 20th-century music.

In the construction of his works, Bartók leaned towards classical forms, being a worthy successor to Beethoven and Brahms. His motivic and transformational work is characterised by particular mastery. Since 1926, polyphonic technique played an important role in his work, renewed and treated originally by transferring it to 12-tone material and incorporating a new expressive charge into it. Bartók’s music is characterised by great richness and diversity of expression. It contains elements of both spontaneous dynamism and brutal expansiveness, as well as refined, impressionistic-fantastic colours, intellectual, classical construction and deep, dramatic pathos. This expressive complexity, harmonised, however, in a uniform individual style, is most fully demonstrated in Bartók’s cycle of 6 string quartets, widely considered to be the most outstanding manifestation of his talent.

Literature:

Documentary:

Thematisches Verzeichnis der Jugendwerke Béla Bartóks 1890–1904, ed. D. Dille, Budapest 1974; Béla Bartók levelek, fényképek, keziratok, kották (‘lists, photographies, manuscripts and facsimiles of Béla Bartók’), ed. J. Demény, Budapest 1948; Béla Bartók levelei az utolsó két év gyűjtése (‘Béla Bartók’s letters from two last years of his life), ed. J. Demény, Budapest 1951; Bartók, sa vie et son oeuvre, ed. B. Szábolcsi, Budapest 1956, Paris 2^nd version: 1968, German translation Béla Bartók. Weg und Werk, Schriften und Briefe, Budapest 1957; Documenta Bartókiana (in German), ed. D. Dille, 4 issues, Mainz 1964–70; Béla Bartók Letters, ed. J. Demény, Budapest 1948–71, extended ed. 2^nd version: 1976, English edition, London 1971, extended 2^nd version: 1981; Bartók Béla élete képekben, ed. F. Bónis, Budapest 1956, 3^rd version: 1961, German ed. Budapest and Bonn 1964, Russian ed. 1963, English, French and Italian ed. Budapest 1964, English ed. Béla Bartók. His Life in Pictures and Documents, Budapest 1972, 2^nd version: 1981; Béla Bartók, A Complete Catalogue of His Published Works, London 1970; Béla Bartók. Zu Leben und Werk, ed. F. Spangemacher, «Musik der Zeit, Dokumentationen und Studien» II, Bonn 1982; J. Takács, Erinnerungen an Béla Bartók, Vienna 1982; M. Gillies, Bartók Remembered, London 1990, German ed. Béla Bartók im Spiegel seiner Zeit. Portraitiert von Zeitgenossen, Zurich 1991

J. Kárpáti, Bartók vonósnégyesei, Budapest 1967, English ed. F. Macnicol, Bartók‘s String Quartets, 1975; J. Kárpáti, Les gammes populaires et le système chromatique dans l’oeuvre de Béla Bartók, L. Somfai, „Per finite”. Some Aspects of the Finale in Bartók’s Cyclic Form and E. Lendvai, Über die Formkonzeption Bartóks, «Studia Musicologica» XI 1969; D. Dille, „L‘Allegro barbaro” de Bartók, «Studia Musicologica» XII 1970; T. Hundt, Bartóks Satztechnik in den Klavierwerken, «Kölner Beiträge zur Musikforschung» LXIII, Regensburg 1971; E. Lendvai, Béla Bartók. An Analysis of His Music, London 1971; P Petersen, Die Tonalität im Instrumentalschaffen von Béla Bartók, «Hamburger Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft» VI 1971; J. McCabe, Bartók Orchestral Music, London 1974; Bartók Studies, ed. T. Crow, Detroit 1976; G. Perle, The String Quartets of Béla Bartók, in: M. Bernstein’s festschrift, New York 1977; J. Gergely, Béla Bartók. Compositeur hongrois, Paris 1980; S. Kovács, Reexamining the Bartók/Serly Viola Concerto, „Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae“ XXIII 1981; Béla Bartók, «Musik-Konzepte» XXII, ed. H.-K. Metzger, R. Riehn, Munich 1981; M. Gillies, Bartók‘s Last Works. A Theory of Tonality and Modality, „Musicology” VII 1982; E. Lendvai, The Workshop of Bartók and Kodály, Budapest 1983; P. Griffiths, Bartók, London 1984; E. Antokoletz, The Music of Béla Bartók. A Study of Tonality and Progression in Twentieth-Century Music, Berkeley (California) 1984; L. Somfai, V. Lampert, Béla Bartók, in: Modern Masters, «The New Grove Composer Biography Series», New York 1984 (contains a complete list of compositions); T. A. Zieliński, Die modalen Strukturen im Werk Bartóks, „Jahrbuch der Musikbibliothek Peters” 1981/82, Leipzig 1985; T. Tallián, Béla Bartók. Sein Leben und Werk, Budapest 1988; E. Antokoletz, Béla Bartók. A Guide to Research, «Garland Composer Resource Manuals» XI, New York 1988; T. A. Zieliński, Bartók Leben, Werk, Klangwelt, Munich 1989; M. Gillies, Notation and Tonal Structure in Bartók’s Later Works, New York 1989; D. Dille, Béla Bartók. Regard sur le passé, Namur 1990.

Monographs of life and work:

E. Haraszti, Béla Bartók, Budapest 1930; E. Haraszti, Béla Bartók. His Life and Works, Paris 1938; D. Dille, Béla Bartók, Antwerp 1939; S. Moreux, Béla Bartók, sa vie, ses oeuvres, son langage, Paris 1949, German translation Béla Bartók. Leben, Werk, Stil, Zurich 19502^nd version: 1952; H. Stevens, The Life and Music of Béla Bartók, New York 1953; L. Lesznai, Béla Bartók, sein Leben – seine Werke, Leipzig 1961; P. Citron, Bartók, Paris 1963; E. Helm, Béla Bartók in Selbstzeugnissen un Bilddokumenten, Reinbek near Hamburg 1965; I. Martynow, Béla Bartók, Moscow 1968; T. Zieliński, Bartók, Kraków 1969, German translation Zurich 1973; I. Niestjew, Béla Bartók. Żyzń i tworczestwo, Moscow 1969; J. Ujfalussy, Béla Bartók (in English), Budapest 1971

Studies on individual issues:

E. von der Nüll, Béla Bartók, ein Beitrag zur Morphologie der neuen Musik, Halle 1930; M. Bristiger, Problem formy sonatowej w V Kwartecie smyczkowym Béli Bartóka, „Muzyka” 1956, no. 3; S. Jarociński, Béla Bartók, in: Orfeusz na rozdrożu – Sylwetki muzyków XX wieku, Warsaw 1958, Kraków 2^nd version: 1974; A. Fassett, The Naked Face of Genius Béla Bartók, American Years, Boston 1958; M. Gorczyca, Nowatorstwo kwartetów Bartóka, „Muzyka” 1962, no. 2; B. Winter, Bartók w Polsce, „Ruch Muzyczny” 1965, no. 18; materials from the Scientific Session devoted to the work of Béla Bartók in Sopot 12 and 13 September 1965, „Zeszyt Naukowy” Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Muzycznej w Sopocie no. 4, Sopot 1966; materials from the Intercollegiate Bartok Session, Warsaw XII 1966, „Zeszyt Naukowy” Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Muzycznej w Warszawie no. 2, Warsaw 1967.