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

At The Academy of Sciences. Great Compositions (1934–1938)

AT THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

GREAT C

O M

P

O S I

T

I

O

N S

( 1 934-1 938)

1938

Hungarian Ambassador for Basel gives a luncheon in their honour at the Basel Hotel Trois

Rois, then

they attend a tea party at Paul Sachers’ They send the menu card of the luncheon to Bartoks mother with signatures of the 15 participants.

Then Mrs Bartok leaves for home.

17 January

- Bartok leaves Basel for Den Hague (via Cologne) where he arrives in the evening. He stays at Hotel de Vieux Doelen.

18 January

- In Den Hague Music gets performed twice following the Dutch practice: at the beginning of the concert and at the end, with Bartoks solo pieces from Microcosmos in the middle. During the second performance of Music he writes his mother and aunt and his wife: “None too splendid a performance ...” - In the evening he attends a private soirée.

19 January

- Leaving Den Hague he arrives in London, via Vlissingen, after a good sea trip. From the ship he writes about performance opportunities of the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussions among other things.

20 January

- At Radio London he plays from Microcosmos.

21 January

- Still in London he begins a letter to Mrs Müller-Widmann.

22 January

- He arrives in Amsterdam and stays at the Villa Wetering boarding house. The Dohnányi

Quintet

is being rehearsed.

23 January

- He writes his mother and aunt that at the Hilversum Radio he will play some of Kodály

’s piano

pieces and of his own (a selection from Microcosmos and Suite), furthermore the Dohnányi

Quintet

with a string quartet.

24 January

- His concert planned for Rotterdam “is cancelled because hardly any tickets were bought” - he writes his wife.

25 January

- From Amsterdam he writes Endre Gertler in Brussels that he hasn’t got time to write the requested article. - To Radio Director Paul Collaer he writes about preparations for his Brussels concert and about taking into consideration the composition of a smaller piece for the May 417