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

Great Concert Tours on Two Continents (1922–1931)

GREAT CONCERT TOURS ON TWO CONTINENTS (1 922-1 931 )

1931

English University Professor Gilbert Murray, Thomas Mann and Paul Valéry among

others. The presiding former Belgian Minister of Public Education, Destrée

gives

an account of not having yet reached any results in the field of music, so he requests that Bartok prepare an appropriate proposal. - Bartok notifies his mother and aunt of his arrival to Geneva, then writes his son Béla

in

Szekszárd

that

he is preparing to leave Geneva for Mondsee to where he expects him, too. - In the evening he composes his next days proposal concerning folk music gramophone recordings.

7 July

- The proposal, read out in German, is accepted by the conference with certain modifications. - At noon he attends Secretary M. de Montenacks luncheon at the Hotel Beau-Rivage,

and

in the evening dinner at President Destrées,

where

he plays Bear Dance and Evening in Transylvania.

8 July

- The Ministry of Religion and Public Education settles a personal allowance of a monthly 150 pengős

to

Bartok by its decree No. 310- 1/17-1931.

9 July

- From Geneva he writes his mother and aunt that the conference ended, he got a 1,146-pengo refund for travel expenses, of which 650 pengős remain,

so it didn’t go badly financially but he doubts the results of their work. - He also writes Doflein and ITHMA just before leaving Geneva.

10 July

- He arrives in Mondsee where he stays at Gasthof

Koflerbräu and

writes a letter to Universal Edition right away.

The company called A ustro-American Conservatory of Music and Art of Stage organised summer courses at Mondsee for well-to-do Americans. They invited excellent performers, thus for this season Bartok, too.

11 July

- He writes his mother and aunt that he began to organise his lessons which started out with quite some difficulty because there were few pupils. - He writes his sister that he is expecting his wife and son Béla

at

Mondsee, who did actually leave Budapest on this day.

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