WNYC; Miscellaneous; Bela Bartok Interview & Concert from the "Ask the Composer" series

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WNYC
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Miscellaneous
Episode
Bela Bartok Interview & Concert from the "Ask the Composer" series
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WNYC (New York, New York)
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cpb-aacip/80-96k0pwr4
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Description
Episode Description
An interview , in English, at the the Brooklyn Museum sculpture garden as part of the Ask The Composer series at the museum. Ditta Pasztory (Bartok's wife) played piano-solo pieces and the piano part in the Serly transcription for piano and strings by Mikrokosmos. David LeVita is the commentator/interviewer and musicologist employed by the museum, and his questions referred to music played by Ditta. Bartok speaking ex tempore, first discussed the Sonatina, then the Suite op. 14 and the innovations in his compositions for the piano of the mid-1910s, going on to the first Rondo (mistakenly speaking of 1932 instead of 1927), the two themes of Evening in Transylvania which are in the style of Hungarian folk songs, and finally Mikrokosmos. This was part of seven part series from the Brooklyn Museum. Tibor Serly piano performed with a string quartet a selection from the Mikrokosmos-suite. The complete text of the Levita-Bartok interview was published in Studia Musicologica 11, 1969, pp. 253-257. [SEE BELOW]
Episode Description
From Hungaroton CD liner notes: An interview, in English, at the "Ask the Composer" concert (4/7) at the Brooklyn Museum in New York on July 2nd 1944. The concert was broadcast by Radio WNYC-FM. Bartok's wife played piano-solo pieces, and the piano part in the Serly transcription for piano and strings of Mikrokosmos. The interview was conducted by the musicologist David LeVita and his questions refered to music played by Ditta. Bartok, speaking ex tempore, first discussed the Sonatina, then the Suite op. 14 and the innovations in his compositions for the piano of the mid-1910s, going on to the first Rondo (mistakenly speaking of 1932 instead of 1927), the two themes of Evening in Transylvania which are in the style of Hungarian folk songs, and finally, Mikrokosmos.
Description
Akadmiai Kiad Bartk Concert in New York on July 2, 1944 Author(s): Gy. Kro Source: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 11, Fasc. 1/4, Bence Szabolsci, Septuagenario (1969), pp. 253+255-257 Published by: Akadmiai Kiad Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/901282 Accessed: 18/10/2011 12:22 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://wwwjstor.org/page/info/about/policies/tennsjsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Akadmiai Kiad is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. http://www.jstor.org Bartk Concert in New York on July 2, 1944 by Gy. Kro Budapest The concert was arranged in Brooklyn Museum as part of a series "Ask the Composer" initiated by the musicologist David LeVita. LeVita was at that time a young man and had joined the museum a short time ago. The program and nature of the series are best shown by a contemporary poster. The dates were later modified and both the Bartk concert, and the interview with the composer took place on the first Sunday in July. David LeVita was well acquainted with the composer who willingly consented to take part in the series with performances of his works by his wife and with personal comments on these compositions. In his talk with David LeVita, it was Bartk himself who arranged his wife's program and as LeVita remembers he also immediately accepted the suggestion that after the piano pieces a few parts of Mikrokosmos in the transcription of Tibor Serly be performed by piano and string orchestra. Bartk considered this transcription to be adequate. The concert was broadcast by New York city's station WNYCFM. The Brooklyn Museum has preserved the full recording of the July 2, 1944 concert. With the kind permission of David LeVita, the present writer was able to listen to and copy this recording and, on the basis of his notes, reproduces in the following the questions posed by David LeVita and the answers given by Bla Bartk and Tibor Serly, respectively. * Question: Dr. Bartk, can you tell us something about the movements of the Sonatina which Mrs. Bartk is going to play for us first ? The titles suggest that there is some reference to Hungarian folklore or everyday scenes in Hungarian life. I refer of course to the names of the first movement, the Bagpipe Players, and the second movement called Bear Dance. Answer: This sonatina was originally conceived as a group of Rou- Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 11, 1969 Gy. Kro: Bartk Concert in New York on July 2, 1944 255 manian folk dances for piano. The three parts which Mrs. Bartk will play were selected from a group and given its present title of Sonatina. The first movement which is called Bagpipe Players is a dance; these are two dances played by two bagpipe players, the first by one and the second theme by another. The second movement is called Bear Dance. This was played for me by a peasant violinist on the G and D strings: on the lower strings in order to have it more similar to a bear's voice. Generally the violin players use the E string. And the last movement contains also two folk melodies played by peasant violin players. Question: Dr. Bartk, do you consider the Suite op. 14 which Mrs. Bartk is going to play next representative of your abstract piano compositions and if so, what qualities make it so ? Answer: If by abstract music you mean absolute music without program, then, yes. The Suite op. 14 has no folk tunes. It is based entirely on original themes of my own invention. When this work was composed I had in mind the refining of piano technique, the changing of piano technique into a more transparent style. A style more of bone and muscle opposing the heavy cordal style of the late, latter romantic period, that is, unessential ornaments like broken cords and other figures are omitted and it is more . . . simpler style. Question: Dr. Bartk, is there any essential difference between the next number on our program, the First Rondo composed comparably recently in 1932 and your early works ? Answer: Actually the Rondo is of the same period as the Suite you just heard. In its original form they were three separate pieces, all based on Slovakian folk material. Much later in 1932 they were welded together to make one complete movement in rondo form. Question: Following the First Rondo Mrs. Bartk has two other piano pieces in that group and the first one of course is the Bulgarian Rhythm. The second one of the piano pieces, Evening in Transylvania, suggested it may have been composed with some special situation or event in mind. And I know that your music is never meant to be personal. Can you tell us about it, Dr. Bartk? Answer: Evening in Transylvania is an original composition that is my . . . with themes of my own invention but it . . . the themes are in the style of -er- the Hungarian-Transylvanian folk tunes. There are two themes. The first one is a parlando rubato -er- rhythm and the second one is more in a dance like rhythm. The second one is more or less the imitation of a peasant flute playing. And the first one, the parlando rubato is an imitation of song, vocal melody. The form of it is ABABA. Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 11, 1969 256 Gy. Kro: Bartk Concert in New York on July 2, 1944 Question: The Mikrokosmos Cycle which Mr. Serly has transcribed for piano and string orchestra is such a vast work. I wonder if you can tell us briefly what it comprises. Answer: The Mikrokosmos is a cycle of 150 and 3 pieces for piano written with didactical purposes. That is to give pieces, piano pieces which can be used from the very beginning and then going on, it is graded according to difficulties. And the word Cosmos may be interpreted, Mikrokosmos may be interpreted -er- as a series of pieces in . . . all of a different style that represent a small world. Or it may be interpreted -er-as a world, a musical world for the little ones, for the children. Question: Do you know whether Mr. Serly found it necessary to alter material much in transcription? Mr. Serly's answer: Yes Mister. Certainly. Question: Yes, perhaps Mr. Serly would be the best one to answer that. Mr. Serly's answer: No treatise or text-book has ever been written that so tellingly reveals the story of the development of musical styles as these brief minute microcosmic sketches. These miniature gems illustrate scale structures, chords, modes, forms, rhythms, harmonies, imitations and canons with dazzling ingenuity. Regarding the transcriptions we are to play, I have selected six to illustrate that they are more than mere piano pieces. As is often the case with the musical part, a more expanded treatment brings to the fore many actual and implied inner voices that are not apparent in the original piano form. Naturally, voices have been shifted, contrapuntal parts have been separated into instrumental units and occasional sonorities have been filled out. Otherwise materially nothing has been altered nor has anything been added. * This interview is of historic value. Bartk very seldom made any comments on his own works and to the best of our knowledge, and except for this one occasion, never did so publicly. In the course of the interview he commented upon five of his works. He spoke of their dates of composition, the circumstances of their origin, their style and in two cases, referring to Suite for piano op. 14 and to Mikrokosmos, he also revealed something of his musical intentions. The particulars he thus provided corroborate and supplement our knowledge. The tone and style of his comments are very characteristic of Bartk. His wording is objective, almost officially precise, with no emotiona
Topics
Music
Rights
WNYC
Media type
Sound
Credits
Interviewee: Barto?k, Be?la, 1881-1945
Interviewee: Serly, Tibor
Performer: Pa?sztory, Ditta, 1903-1982
Record label: Hungaroton
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WNYC-FM
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Citations
Chicago: “WNYC; Miscellaneous; Bela Bartok Interview & Concert from the "Ask the Composer" series ,” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 4, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-96k0pwr4.
MLA: “WNYC; Miscellaneous; Bela Bartok Interview & Concert from the "Ask the Composer" series .” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 4, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-96k0pwr4>.
APA: WNYC; Miscellaneous; Bela Bartok Interview & Concert from the "Ask the Composer" series . Boston, MA: WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-96k0pwr4