Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
Great Concert Tours on Two Continents (1922–1931)
1930 CHRONICLES OF BÉLA BARTOK'S LIFE was great success, only 24 years late. He writes his mother that Jenő Szenkár and Zoltán Székely are also in London, he will meet them in the evening. 27 November - He leaves for Zurich via Paris. 29 November - From Zurich he writes his mother that he is staying at their old acquaintance Mrs Schwarzenbachs, but unfortunately only for a single day. 30 November - Bartok matinee at Bern City Theatre. He performs the 5 Ady Songs and 5 numbers of 8 Hungarian Folk Songs with Ilona Durigo, Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 and Rumanian Folk Dances with Stefi Geyer. His solo programme is: Allegro barbaro, Kolindas, Dirge No. 1, Burlesque No. 1, Rumanian Dance No. 1. In Bern he stays at Bellevue Palace and at the Bernerhof. 1 December - He writes Universal still from Bern, then travels to Basel where just then the national census of 1930 is in progress and Bartok is also registered, of course. He goes to the movies and watches two talking pictures: “We should wait for something better for the time being” - he writes his wife the following day. 3 December - From Basel he writes his mother that Casals is playing Rhapsody No. 1 all over Europe and he will probably also perform it in Budapest (and so he did). 4 December - He writes ITHMA, then leaves for Freiburg where he wants to rehearse as soon as possible. 6 December - From Freiburg he writes his mother that he is really ready to get home by now “because I am fed up with this roaming”. 8 December - In the afternoon in Freiburg Dr. Erich Doflein gives a lecture entitled Einführung in den Stil Béla Bartoks (Introduction to Béla Bartoks Style) with piano examples, in the evening Bartok plays Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Town Theatre with the Town Orchestra conducted by Hugo Balzer. According to Bartok “absolutely very good” performance. 316
