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

War Years (1914–1919)

1919

CHRONICLES OF BÉLA

BARTOK'S

LIFE

22 May

- Because of the curfew, the Peoples Commissariat of Public Education issues him a permission (signed by Béla

Reinitz),

valid for 30 days, to stay on the streets after 11 p.m.

23 May

- He is presumably present at the music directory’s meeting.

The weather changing for the better, the Bartoks move down again to Rákoskeresztúr,

and

take in temporarily a little refugee girl from Transylvania, Irénke

Kisgyörgy.

Between 9 and 11 June - It takes Mr and Mrs Bartok days to write a long letter to Pozsony,

which

István

Németh will

take along. They describe the situation of provisions and the events of recent times: “The new pantomime is ready, B. is already orchestrating it. ... who knows when it can be performed”.

21 June

- He gets exempted from military service until 31 August 1919, by the Peoples Commissariat of Defence, under No. 305989/4.

Afterwards Bartok withdraws from public activities. The downfall of the Council (Soviet) Republic and the Romanian troops’ marching in during the first days of August reach him in Rákoskeresztúr.

- The troops marching through leave behind a unit in Rákoskeresztúr,

a

battalion from the region of Bákó

(Moldva), of

which 6 soldiers stay at the Bartoks’. Bartok collects several Moldavian folk songs from the Csangos among the soldiers.

12 August - He receives a certificate (written in Hungarian and Romanian) in Rákoskeresztúr

attesting

his political reliability and giving permission to travel to Budapest.

19 August - From Rákoskeresztúr

Mrs

Bartok sends a letter in German to her mother-in-law in Pozsony

via

Vienna by Lia Gruss. “We will not starve to death.”

At the beginning of September Bartok asks for and gets granted a 4-month leave from the Music Academy.

In the meantime procedures are in progress against his fellow professors and others for their activities during the Council Republic.

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