The Classical Music Book

270

A

lthough heavily influenced

by German music, Béla

Bartók’s individual voice

became increasingly evident after

he began to collect music from his

native Hungary in 1904. There is a

clear evolution of style between the

First Quartet (1909), which included

elements of folk music but was

influenced by Richard Strauss and

Debussy, and his Fifth Quartet

(1934), which premiered in 1935.

Musical journey

In 1912, lack of interest in his works

from his publishers led Bartók to

devote his time to studying folklore

and collecting thousands of Eastern

European folk songs. In 1913, he

also visited North Africa, again

finding themes to incorporate in his

music. When his health rendered

him unfit for military service in

World War I, he again began to

compose. The success of his

fairytale ballet The Wooden Prince

(1917) led to renewed interest in his

opera Bluebeard’s Castle (1911).

A Transylvanian village receives

Bartók (fourth from left) during one

of his tours to record folk songs. His

interest coincided with a growing

pride in traditional national culture.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Reconciling folk music

and modernism

BEFORE

1853 Liszt composes his Piano

Sonata in B minor, which had

a profound influence on Bartók.

1895 Hungarian composer

Ernö Dohnányi writes his

Piano Quintet, No. 1, Op. 1.

1896 Richard Strauss writes

Also sprach Zarathustra, a

work Bartók studied closely

after attending its Budapest

premiere in 1902.

AFTER

1953–1954 Györg y Ligeti’s

String Quartet No. 1 is strongly

influenced by Bartók’s works.

1959 György Kurtág

completes his String Quartet,

Op. 1, effectively continuing

the Hungarian tradition of

string quartet writing.

A NATION CREATES MUSIC.

THE COMPOSER ONLY

ARRANGES IT

STRING QUARTET NO. 5 ( 1934 ),

BÉLA VIKTOR JÁNOS BARTÓK

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