This week on Exploring Music, we look at the life and musical development of one of Hungary’s greatest composers. A musician’s musician, Bartok was supported by many of the great conductors of his era. Paul Sacher, who led the Basel Chamber Orchestra, asked him to write the Divertimento for Strings. Serge Koussevitsky and Fritz Reiner invited him to compose the Concerto for Orchestra. At the end of the week, we’ll hear Benny Goodman perform Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, a piece he requested from Bartok.
Bartók, Béla (1881-1945)
Magenta door reflection, neon lights
Playlist
Episode 1
Bartók, Bela: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (excerpt)
CSO/Solti
Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta; The Miraculous Mandarin Suite; Divertimento
Lon 430352
0:28
Bartók, Bela: ‘Unpublished’ Sonata for Violin and Piano (excerpt)
Szabadi, violin; Gulyás, piano
Bartok- Violin Sonatas
Hungaroton 31558
0:53
Bartók, Bela: Transylvanian Dance for Violin duo (excerpt)
Muzsikás and Márta Sebestyén, violins
The Bartok Album
Fono 571439
0:36
Liszt, Franz: Hungarian Rhapsody #2 (excerpt)
Jan Cziffra, piano
Liszt: Rhapsodies Hongroises
EMI 56228
0:48
Lakatos, Roby: WQXR broadcast excerpts
Roby Lakatos, violin
0:30
Brahms, Johannes: WQXR broadcast excerpts
Roby Lakatos, violin
0:45
Bartók, Bela: Andante for Violin and Piano (excerpt)
Gyorgy Pauk, violin; Jeno Jandó, piano
BARTÓK, B.: Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2 / Piano Quintet
Naxos 8.550886
1:15
Bartók, Bela: Piano Quintet – II. Vivace -Scherzando
Kodály Quartet & Jeno Jando, piano
BARTÓK, B.: Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2 / Piano Quintet
Naxos 8.550886
8:47
Strauss, Richard: Also Sprach Zarathustra, op. 30: Einleitung (excerpt)
CSO/Solti
Richard Strauss Concert
London 440618
0:42
Strauss, Richard: Ein Heldenleben (excerpt)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Barenboim
Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op. 28 / Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Erato 2292-45621-2
0:28
Bartók, Bela: Kossuth, Sz.21
Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Fischer
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
Philips 456575-2
19:59
Bartók, Bela: Fekete Föd (Snow-White Kerchief)
Maria Basilides, mezzo-soprano; Bela Bartók, piano
Béla Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly: Hungarian Folk Music
Pearl 9266
1:34
Bartók, Bela: String Quartet #1 In A Minor, III
Emerson Quartet
Bartok: The Six String Quartets
DG 477 6322
11:27
Episode 2
Bartók, Bela: Violin Duo No. 4- Midsummer Night Song
Eugene Drucker & Phil Setzer, violin
Bartók: Sonata For Solo Violin, Violin Duos
Biddulph 020
0:48
Bartók, Bela: Four Orchestral Pieces, Op. 12, III
NY Philharmonic/Boulez
Bartok: Miraculous Mandarin, Pieces for Orchestra
Sony 45837
4:26
Bartók, Bela: Allegro Barbaro, Sz. 49
Bela Bartók, piano
Composers in Person
EMI 55031
2:30
Montage: Two-seconds of many works
0:30
Bartók, Bela: Sheppard’s tune
Bela Bartók, piano
Bartók Plays Bartók: Bartok at the Piano, 1929-41
Priceless 22719
1:29
Bartók, Bela: Evening in Transylvania
Bela Bartók, piano
Bartók Plays Bartók: Bartok at the Piano, 1929-41
Priceless 22719
2:51
Bartók, Bela: Hungarian Sketches (excerpts)
CSO/Boulez
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Orchestral Pieces, Op. 12
DG 435825
2:47
Bartók, Bela: String Quartet No. 2 (excerpts)
Takács Quartet
Bartók: The 6 String Quartets
Lon 455297
0:56
Bartók, Bela: String Quartet No. 2 (excerpts)
Takács Quartet
Bartók: The 6 String Quartets
Lon 455297
0:42
Bartók, Bela: Bluebeard’s Castle (excerpts)
Hungarian State Orchestra/Fischer; Samuel Ramey, bass; Eva Martón, soprano
Bartok: Bluebeard’s Castle
CBS 44523
6:37
Bartók, Bela: The Wooden Prince, I-III
NY Phil/Boulez
Cantata Profana Sz 94 / The Wooden Prince Sz 60 (Op. 13)
DG 435 863
10:56
Bartók, Bela: Istenem (Coldly Runs the River), rec. 1928
Basilides, mezzo soprano; Bartók, piano
Hungarian Folk Music
Gemm 9266
1:24
Bartók, Bela: 6 Romanian Folk Dances
Szigeti, violin; Bartók , piano
Composers in Person
EMI 55031
5:26
Bartók, Bela: Hungarian Sketches, IV- Slightly Tipsy
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Boulez
Bartók: Divertimento, Dance Suite
DG 445825
2:11
Bartók, Bela: Burlesques No. 2, Slightly Tipsy
Bela Bartók, piano
Composers in Person
EMI 55031
2:07
Waits, Tom: The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
Tom Waits
Small Change
Asylum 21375
0:44
Bartók, Bela: Violin Duo No. 5 – Slovakian Song
Drucker, violin; Setzer, violin
Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, Violin Duos
Biddulph 020
0:58
Episode 3
Bartók, Bela: Violin Duo No. 42- Arabian Song
Eugene Drucker, violin; Phillip Setzer, violin
Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, Violin Duos
Biddulph 020
1:10
Bartók, Bela: String Quartet No. 2, II
Takács Quartet
Bartók: The 6 String Quartets
London 445297
7:16
Bartók, Bela: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Op. 19
Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta / The Miraculous Mandarin – Suite
EMI 47117 2
0:19
Bartók, Bela: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Op. 19
Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta / The Miraculous Mandarin – Suite
EMI 47117 2
20:07
Bartók, Bela: Violin Sonata #2, I
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Violin Sonatas
Virgin Classics 45668
8:05
Ravel, Maurice: Tzigane For Violin & Piano (excerpt)
Daniel Hope, violin; Sebastian Knauer, lutheal
East Meets West – Ravel, Shankar
Warner 61329
4:59
Bartók, Bela: Village Scenes: Lullaby
New York Philharmonic/Boulez; Joan Fuerstman, alto
Bartok: Miraculous Mandarin, Pieces for Orchestra
Sony 45837
4:42
Bartók, Bela: Cantata Profana (excerpt)
Budapest Festival Orchestra & Choir of Hungarian Radio & TV/Solti
Sir George Solti: The Last Recording; Bartók, Kodály, Weiner
London 458929
1:09
Orff, Carl: Carmina Burana (excerpt)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Muti
Orff: Carmina Burana
EMI 735732
0:37
Episode 4
Bartók, Bela: Violin Duo No. 34: Counting Song (excerpt)
Setzer, violin; Drucker, violin
Bartók: Sonata For Solo Violin, Violin Duos
Biddulph 020
0:59
Bartók, Bela: Piano Concerto #2, SZ 95 – 1. Allegro
Berlin Philharmonic/Boulez; Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
The Piano Concertos
DG B0003885-02
9:19
Bartók, Bela: Contrasts – I. Verbunkos (Recruiting Dance)
Benny Goodman, clarinet; Bela Bartok, piano; Joseph Szigeti, violin
Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano: I. Verbunkos
Pearl 57
5:25
Bartók, Bela: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, III & IV
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Solti
Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta/The Miraculous Mandarin-Suite/Divertimento
London 430 352-2
13:21
Bartók, Bela: Violin Concerto No. 2, I (excerpt)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Boulez; Gil Shaham, violin
Violin Concerto No. 2 · Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2
DG 459 639
1:00
Bartók, Bela: Violin Concerto No. 2, I (excerpt)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Boulez; Gil Shaham, violin
Violin Concerto No. 2 · Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2
DG 459 639
0:40
Bartók, Bela: Violin Concerto No. 2, II
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Boulez; Gil Shaham, violin
Violin Concerto No. 2 · Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2
DG 459 639
10:46
Bartók, Bela: Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra, III
Concertgebouw/Zinman; Argerich, piano; Freiere, piano
Bartók: Concerto For 2 Pianos, Percussion & Orchestra / Kodály: Dances of Galánta
Philips 416 378-2
6:44
Episode 5
Bartók, Bela: Divertimento for Strings, III
Camerata Academica Des Mozarteums/Végh
Sandor Vegh conducts Bartok, Berg and Stravinsky
Capriccio 10300
7:13
Bartók, Bela: Concerto for Orchestra, I
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Georg Solti
Concerto for Orchestra / Dance Suite
London/Decca 400 052-2
9:04
Shostakovich, Dmitry: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 Leningrad, I
NBC Symphony Orchestra/Toscanini
Live broadcast from July 19, 1942
0:28
Lehár, Franz: Merry Widow: “Da Geh’ Ich Zu Maxim” (excerpt)
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra/Viotti Thomas Hampson, baritone
Lehár: Die Lustige Witwe A Tribute to Operette
DG 459 658-2
0:26
Bartók, Bela: Concerto for Orchestra, IV excerpt
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Georg Solti
Concerto for Orchestra / Dance Suite
London/Decca 400 052-2
0:42
Bartók, Bela: Concerto for Orchestra, IV & V
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Georg Solti
Concerto for Orchestra / Dance Suite
London/Decca 400 052-2
13:40
Bartók, Bela: Piano Concerto No. 3, II & III
L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra/Salonen; Bronfman, piano
Béla Bartók, The Three Piano Concertos
Sony 66718
17:13
Bartók, Bela: Violin Duo No. 10 – Ruthenian Song
Drucker, violin; Setzer,violin
Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, Violin Duos
Biddulph 020
0:59
