Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
School Years (1890–1903)
1902 CHRONICLES OF BÉLA BARTOK'S LIFE of the Paganini etudes for his second exam concert at the Old Music Academy. The concert is a success, he is called back 4 times, but the experts (Thomán, Mrs Gruber) don’t appreciate the Barcarolle (that he played with reluctance by the way) as much as the other piece. - He writes his mother about an offer for a holiday in Transylvania with a magnate family, where he was supposed to teach music to 2 girls, but he didn’t accept the invitation because he wanted to spend as much time with his mother as possible. - Concerning Dohnányi ’s 15 May behaviour he notes that when Dohnányi likes something he never says so. 27 May - He sends his mother the good review of the Pest Daily News concerning the previous day, with the note that he doesn’t care about reviews. 31 May - During a stage rehearsal at the Music Academy, he tells Mrs Dohnányi that having completed his academic studies he would like to study with Dohnányi. Mrs Dohnányi answers that they should talk about it in the autumn. 1 June - Lunch at the Gárdonys ’. 2 June - He writes a letter to his mother specifying that his piano exam will be the following day, meaning that it is not the same as the 26 May exam concert. 6 June - Exam of composition. 12 June - The Music Academy issues a “Declaration” signed by Ödön Mihalovich (No. 222/1902), according to which “ Béla Bartok manifested his outstanding, even monumental musical abilities, and we have the justified hope that one day he would do honour to our music life”. 16 June - As testified by his letter of 26 May this is his last day of examinations, presumably of one minor subject. 17 June - He travels home to Pozsony. 21 June - The Music Academy issues 2 reports for him. One (No. 50
