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

World War II. Second and Third American Tour (1939–1945)

WORLD WAR II.

SECOND AND THIRD AMERICAN TO U

R

( 1 9 3 9 - 1 9 4 5 )

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again with his wife at the Music Academy. The fee is 800 pengős.

2 ,

5, 9, 17, 18 February - Letters to Boosey & Hawkes.

3 February

- He returns the Rutenian folk songs - asked for on 24 June 1939 and then copied - to Dezső

Zádor in

Ungvár,

accompanied

by a letter.

12 February

- He gives notice of leaving to the owner of his mothers Krisztina Boulevard flat, Károly

Möller.

15 February

- He writes Sándor

Albrecht

of difficulties regarding his mother s retained pension, asking for his further assistance.

23 February - He renounces Governor Miklos Horthys

invitation

for 24 February with reference to a “heavy cold”.

1 March

- He takes a wagon-lit to Szombathely.

2 March

- In Szombathely

he

plays a sonata by Mozart beside Rhapsody No. 1 and Kreutzer

Sonata

with Ede Zathureczky. His fee is 350 pengős.

This is Bartoks last appearance in the countryside.

During the month of March, Cantata prof ana is rewarded the shared “

Fülöp Weiss Prize” by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. (Allegedly they had been unable to trace Bartoks address, that’s why they delivered the prize more than a year later to his son Béla,

Bartok

being already absent.)

The system of civilian identity cards is installed in Hungary around this time.

20 March - Bartok also receives his identity card numbered 31775.

26 March

- He has to fill out a certain “control registration form” regarding the inhabitants of 29 Csalán

Road.

31 March

- He informs the Rózsavölgyi

and

Co. firm that STAGMA, of which he is no longer a member, owes him considerably, so entering into contractual relations with Germany is out of the question for him.

1 April

- Columbia University of New York notifies him of their intention to confer the degree of Honorary Doctor on him. (Upon Bartoks request this was left to his third American tour.)

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