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

School Years (1890–1903)

SCHOOL YEARS (1 890-1 903)

1900

having been attacked in the paper Egyetértés

(Agreement)

and also during a budgetary debate in the Houses of Parliament. Young people want to send him a deputation for the sake of opening the Opera box, and they intend to include Bartok as well, although he would not participate willingly.

26 February - At the Opera he sees the performance of Humperdincks Hansel and Gretel, on the 28th Meyerbeers EAfricaine (The African Woman), and on 3 March Siegfried Wagners opera The Bearskinned.

5 March - In his letter to his mother he complains about the presentation of a German play at the Teachers’ Institute of Pozsony,

in

German at that. - The matter of the Opera box is still unresolved, they haven’t seen intendant Keglevich who had already left on a trip.

10 March

- Queen of Sheba at the Opera House: “horrid performance”.

11 March

- “The concert of the poor Liszt Society----was cancelled; Having such misfortune he will soon die indeed” - he writes to his mother.

12 March

- Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 is conducted by Lipót

Auer

at the concert of the Philharmonics. “Beautiful work” - writes Bartok.

15 March

- School holiday at the Music Academy. In the evening Aida at the Opera: “they bungled a lot”.

18-19 March - He writes his mother that there will be a concert of chamber music at the Academy on 20 March with a nice programme. Bartok listens both to the stage rehearsal of the 19th and to the performance of the 20th. Programme: a trio of Beethoven’s, a quartet by Volkmann, and a quintet by Goldmark.

23 March - Bartok doesn’t go to Busoni’s concert (with pieces by Bach - in Busoni’s transcription -, Brahms, Chopin, and Liszt) - he is not interested.

25 March - On his 19th birthday he gets up at 10 o’clock, reads the papers, has lunch, practises between 4-6 p.m., afterwards he takes a walk, practises again, and reads. In the meantime he writes a letter to his mother.

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