Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1982 (10. évfolyam, 31-34. szám)
1982 / 31-32. szám
BARTÓK CENTENNIAL A proliferation of Bartók-related publications during the 1981 centennial celebrations, makes it impossible to present a comprehensive report. The reader is advised to consult the bibliography and discography included in the Studia Musicologica volume, reviewed below. Other items reviewed are not included for their intrinsic value alone, but rather because author or publisher sent us a copy for consideration. Juhász, Vilmos. BARTÓK’S YEARS IN AMERICA. Preface by Yehudi Menuhin; introduction by Sándor Veress. Occidental Press, P.O. Box 1005, Washington, DC 20013, 1981. 94 pages, illus. $8.95 + 95 <C postage. Paper. This collection of ten extemporaneous interviews with Barto'k’s surviving acquaintances was first published in Hungarian: Bartók Béla amerikai évei [Bela Bartók’s Years in America] New York: 1956, mimeo. In these interviews his friends, pupils, and fellow musicians give testimony to his philosophy, private passions, his ‘trandescentally humanistic’ personality dispelling the undeserved politically motivated criticism, which had been leveled at him by the Hungarian government in the early 1950s. After 1956 the estimation of Bartók changed fundamentally. Research on his work has .soared to new heights and the centennial of his birth was celebrated with spectacular performances and publications. A volume containing over 1,000 letters of Bartók was published in 1976 and used for direct quotations in this volume. A book similar to the one under review appeared in 1981: F. Bonis, így láttuk Bartókot [Thus We Saw Bartók]. The "Study of the musical and ethnomusical oeuvre of Bartók reached a standard which represents a unique phenomenon in today’s musicological investigation and interpretation” says Veress in the introduction. This modest but fascinating volume complements a series of details to the general picture of the American years of Bartók. The late author (1899-1967) was professor of comparative cultural history at the U. of Szeged. □ STUDIA MUSICOLOGICA Vol. 23. Centenario Belae Bartók Sacrum. General ed. is Zoltán Falvy. Budapest: Akade'miai kiadó', 1981.499 pages, notes, diagrams, index. Subscription: $44.00 per annum. BOOKS (Continued) 1940 - October 1944). Bibliotheca Historica Romániáé, Studies no. 61. Editura Academiei Republicii Socialistic Romania, Bucharest, 1979.240pages, notes, biblio. Lei 11.50 cloth. The Second Vienna Award returned the northern part of Transylvania to Hungary in 1940. The Hungarian policies in the area between 1940 and 1944 intended to undo the effects of Romanization which had taken place between 1920 and 1940. These measures intended to reestablish Hungarian predominance in the political and economic life, and therefore were not popular among the dislocated Romanian population. This volume attempts to describe the extent and nature of Romanian resistance not only to allegedly unjust measures, but to Hungarian rule by identifying the latter with “fascism.” The major credit for the defense of Romanian ethnic interests goes to the Communist Party and to the Romanian National Committee of whose existence and activities little had been known, so far. The volume will certainly evoke legitimate arguments among historians. 6 The Studia musicologica is a semiannual journal of the HAS. Articles are published in major European languages, not unlike those in the various Acta of the HAS. Volume 23 (1981) devotes its pages entirely to the Be'la Bartók centenary. Of 20 contributions 8 are in English dealing with primary sources of Bartók’s works; with his exercises incomposition; with the genesis of the Duke Bluebeard Castle; his Contrasts, the Serly Viola Concerto; with dating his folksong arrangements; his disease (by Be'la Bartók Jr.); and his personality. The appendix contains a Bartók bibliography of the years 1970-1979, and a discography, i.e., records published in Hungary between 1971 and 1980. Those who can read German will find an additional 7 interesting articles, and those with French reading capability will find 2 more articles. Only one article is in Russian. □ HUNGARIAN FOLK SONGS. LP record. Arrangements by Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, and Josef Mária Horváth. Károly Schmidt, baritone; Julia Falk, alto; and Josef Maria Horváth, piano. Bilingual commentary by István Csicsery-Rónay; advice and documentation by Sándor Veress; English trsl. of most songs by Stephen Stevenson. Occidental Press, P.O. Box 1005, Washington, DC 20013, 1981.33 1/3 rpm. $10.00. The collection is a cross-section of Hungarian folk songs classified according to function, geographical distribution and historical development. Some tunes date back to the Finno-Ugrian ritual melodies, to songs in the old church modes and others to characteristically modern Hungarian folk song style. The earliests are the regős, associated with pre-Christian fertility rites and songs for the summer solstice, says Csicsery-Ro'nay in his commentary. □ Suchoff, Benjamin ed„ PIANO MUSIC OF BELA BARTÓK. The Archive Edition. Series I and II. Dover Publications, 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014,1981. xii + 167 and xxv + 150 pages, facsimile, illus. $ According to the editor “The Archive Edition of Barto'k’s works is an extension of the New York Bartók Archive Studies in Musicology publication series.” These two volumes contain works published during his lifetime or posthumously in Hungary, and unpublished works found among his memorabilia. The present volume contains photocopies of the original editions with added editorial remarks. Although the Archive Edition is performance-oriented, the editorial annotations ... reflect musicological scholarship. An exceptionally attractive publication. The editor is trustee of the Béla Bartók Estate and prof, at SUNY, Stony Brook. He is also recipient (in the company of Benny Goodman, Eugene Ormandy, György Sándor, and Isaac Stern) of the Be'la Bartók Memorial Plaque presented to him by the Hungarian ambassador to the U.S. in January 1982 □ Bartók, Béla. THE HUNGARIAN FOLK SONG. Ed. by Benjamin Suchoff; trl. by M.D. Calvocoressi; with annotations by Zoltán Kodály. State U. of New York Press. P.O. Box 4830, Hampden Sta., Baltimore, MD 21211,1981.450 pages, illus., biblio, notes. $49.00 cloth; $12.95 paper. Bartók was not ony a great composer, he was also an ethnomusicologist and this volume is on its best way to become the standard reference work on international ethnomusicological methods. He developed analytical procedures still used in this discipline. Here he presents a classic study of folk music in a single culture, i.e., setting morphological aspects of Hungarian musical folklore into NO. 31-32, SPRING-SUMMER, 1982 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER
