Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)

War Years (1914–1919)

1916

CHRONICLES OF BÉLA

BARTOK'S

LIFE

11 July

- From Rákoskeresztúr

he

responds Irén

Egri, a

former pupil of his, accepting to teach the young girl recommended by her, but taking no responsibility for her exam results.

14 July

- He notifies Director of the Opera House, Count Miklos Bánffy

that “The piano arrangement of the ballet is ready, or rather it is already copied. I can play it for you on the 21st, 22nd or 24th”.

Béla Bartok

Jnr reaches school age. Bartok wishes him to receive as liberal an education as possible during the compulsory instruction in religion. So he shows up at the Roman Catholic parish of Rákoscsaba

with his son, where he announces his intention to resign.

25 July

- He presents himself at the Budapest parish of the Unitarian Church, this being the closest to his way of thinking, and converts to the Unitarian faith together with his son. This fact is registered as 3rd item on the 57th page of the Church’s conversion register, under No. 187/1916.

29 July

- He travels with his family to Marosvásárhely,

where

he is guest of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Károly

Ziegler

(who is doing his military service stationed in his hometown at this time).

Between 6 and 8 August he continues collecting marching songs in the barracks of the 22nd honvéd

[Translators

note: Hungarian soldier, the word meaning protector of the homelands’] infantry regiment of Marosvásárhely.

The

material originating from the communities Marosvásárhely, Mezőköbölkút, Maroshévíz, Gyulatelke, Pusztakamarás, Marosoroszfalu, Erdőszakái, and Erdőszengyel of

this period are presumably all from this collecting. In his 1917 report of the collecting Bartok indicates dates between 6 and 9 August, but

on 9 August he is already writing from Rákoskeresztúr

to

Boriska Kormos

in Gyöngyös,

giving

some advice for her piano studies.

His wife and son still remain in Marosvásárhely.

Between 16 and 23 August he is in Zólyom

county

again (in Libetbánya

and Zólyombrézó).

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