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

School Years (1890–1903)

SCHOOL YEARS (1 890-1 903)

1897

Budapest with his mother to see the exhibition, probably during the summer school holidays.

1897

László Erkel passed

away in December, from then on Bartok studies with Anton Hyrtl.

25 March - On his 16th birthday he starts keeping a booklet entitled “Musikalien-Buch. Ein Verzeichniss

guter

Musikwerke” (Book

of music scores. Catalogue of good musical works), and he would note the titles of quite a number of pieces in there. 182 music pieces are included until 25 March 1898.

1 May

- Pupils of years 6 and 8 of the Pozsony

grammar

school go to see the museums of Vienna, presumably Bartok of year 6 as well.

16 June

- He reaches Number 39 in his catalogue of music pieces.

19-23 June - Class exams.

29 June - Distribution of school reports: 5 excellent, 2 good (German language, mathematics), and 1 satisfactory (Latin language). Missed lessons 34. He receives again the 100 forints of the Győri

Foundation

and the 5-forint and 4-krajcár

interest

of the Pracher

Foundation.

16 August

- He entered the titles of yet 28 pieces since 16 June.

3 November - School ceremony in Pozsony

on

grammar-school Headmaster Károly

Polikeits

name-day. Bartok appears in as many as 3 numbers: he accompanies Mendelssohns Violin concerto played by Ágost

Fränzl;

he

performs Liszt s Spanish Rhapsody (this is the first time he plays a Liszt piece in public), and he also plays the piano in the orchestra of the institute, in Schumanns piece entitled Dreaming.

25 November - The Czech Quartet play Dvoraks Quartet Op. 105 in Pozsony. Bartok

probably went to hear it, seen that he kept the “Thematischer Führer” of

the concert.

29