| Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Concerto for Orchestra
[I] Introduzione: Andante non troppo - Allegro vivace
As the name suggests, the Concerto is a showpiece for orchestra, allowing each of its sections a chance to demonstrate its virtuosity. Its structure is arch-like (a characteristic of many of Bartók's works), with its central Elegy framed almost symmetrically by two outer movements (1 & 5) in sonata style and two inner intermezzo-like movements (2 & 4). An extended introduction opens the first movement with a soulful pentatonic lament on the cellos, followed by an example of Bartók's eerily evocative 'night music' with tremelando strings and sporadic touches of instrumental colour. A more impassioned theme parlando-rubato is given more extensive treatment and appears in a number of guises along with other material, effectively preparing the way for the assertive first theme proper and the later trombone theme that derives from it. An altogether more tranquil second subject group is introduced in a quasi-improvisatory theme employing an extremely limited melodic range. Unconventionally, the extensive development is followed by a recapitulation in which the first and second subject groups are treated in the reverse order, once again creating an arch-like structure. The delightfully unorthodox Allegro scherzando, Giuoco delle coppie (Game of Pairs) begins with the sound of the side drum, a recurring feature of the movement. Five seemingly unrelated dance themes are then daisy-chained together in an affably humorous first section, featuring in turn pairs of bassoons, oboes, clarinets, flutes and trumpets. A chorale-like melody, thought by some to derive from Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland is played, organ-like, on five brass instruments, while the side drum plays an important role in maintaining the rhythmic impetus of the movement. The five pairs return in order as before but this time with more elaborate instrumentation. Described by Bartók as a 'lugubrious death-song', the Elegia is the kernel of the entire composition. It too is chain-like in construction, comprising three recognizable main themes, derived from the Introduzione of Movement I. This core, to use Bartók's own words, is 'enframed by a misty texture of rudimentary motives' - night music. Whether the Intermezzo interrotto reflects a wry poke at fellow composers or a more deep-seated discontentment with the world scene (and Bartók reputedly aired both interpretations) is unclear, but the subject matter of its programme and its ABA-Interruption-BA format are equally controversial, prompting one writer to suggest that it would be no loss to omit it altogether! The oboe introduces the movement with a jaunty theme, rhythmically irregular like a Slovak peasant dance. The beautiful heart-on-sleeve cantilena that follows, also the real heart of this movement, is said to be based on a well-known paean about the Hungarian fatherland. A raucous interruption ensues, parodying a march from Shostakovitch's 7th Symphony (Leningrad) and an aria from Lehar's Merry Widow in a merciless lampoon evocative of fairground music. As it subsides, the cantilena returns on muted strings but is not repeated and the original rustic tune reappears in a truncated form, itself interrupted by a wistful flute cadenza evocative of birdsong, before finally dying away. An exhilarating horncall opens the fourth and final movement, followed by a perpetuum mobile featuring a Rumanian hora in a gradual crescendo from pp to ff accompanied by the sounds of the instruments of the orchestra imitating those of a Romanian folk band. A second Rumanian dance (the Maruntel) features in this group and the previous themes are further explored before a much more straightforward second subject in the manner of a bagpipe melody appears first in the woodwind and is then passed to the strings, becoming another perpetuum mobile. A new pentatonic horn-call is heard on the trumpets. An extraordinary delicate texture akin to Javanese gamelan music preludes the development section and is followed by a quirky fugato section, village band style, based on the second horn-call. This final movement, unlike the first, follows convention in treating the main thematic groups in the development and recapitulation in the same order as the exposition. Far more important for the listener, however, is Bartok's vision for the movement, which was that it should be life-asserting. The forward momentum of this vibrant music, culminating in its climactic affirmation with the second horncall theme leaves the listener in no doubt that Bartok has achieved his objective.
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An American concert tour in 1940 had seemed to offer Béla Bartók the promise of recognition overseas as both concert pianist and composer, throwing the uncongenial political climate at home into sharp relief. After returning home, Hungary's impending political alignment with Nazi Germany must have been the final straw for him, as, later in the same year, he emigrated from his beloved homeland to self-imposed exile in the USA. Despite some early success, however, wartime conditions and his own poor health made it difficult for him to make a living as a concert pianist. With the help of friends, he managed to secure an appointment as a musical research assistant at Columbia University, where, at least, he could pursue his passion for ethno-musicology: transcribing, classifying and editing folk music, as he had done earlier in Hungary and its environs with his compatriot, Zoltan Kodaly. But research left him little time for composition, and his increasingly debilitating illness (later diagnosed as leukaemia) probably led to his disinclination. However, in 1943, when funds for research had dried up, and after three years without him writing a note, he was visited in hospital by the renowned conductor Sergei Koussevitsky who, offered Bartók a $1000 dollars' commission for a major orchestral work. This thinly disguised plan to help out the ailing composer in his straitened circumstances resulted in a burst of frenetic activity and the completion of the Concerto for Orchestra within three months, much to the surprise of Koussevitsky who had not really expected Bartók to survive long enough to finish it! The work was dedicated to the memory of Koussevitsky's wife, Nathalie, and received its first performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in December 1944.