Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
School Years (1890–1903)
1903 CHRONICLES OF BÉLA BARTOK'S LIFE 15 December - The Czech Quartets concert. Programme, beside a string quartet of Tchaikovsky’s and one of Schuberts, a Piano quartet by Brahms, with the participation of Etelka Freund. 17 December - An evening of Beethoven with the Philharmonics. 18 December - At the public concert of the Music Academy Bartok plays Schumanns Sonata in F sharp minor with great success. His mother was also present at the concert. For the Christmas holidays he travels to Pozsony. 24 December - He sends good wishes on a postcard to his sister. 1903 2 January - The widowed Mrs Béla Bartok assents (by notarial declaration No. 2/1903) to Bartoks one-year enlisting in a volunteer status, which assures the rank of officer when enlisted. (This was the period when the so-called “Artist Paragraph” got legislated, which made possible one year of voluntary military service also for graduates of the Music Academy among others, instead of the three years in the army.) 7 January - The Music Academy notifies him under No. 5/1902 (mistakenly instead of 1903), that the Ministry of Religion and Public Education granted him full tuition waiver for the piano faculty by its order No. 84158/1902. - In the evening at a Philharmonic concert Dohnányi s Symphony No. 2 “...sounds magnificent. He himself conducted eminently. We celebrated him greatly indeed”. 8 January - Musical gathering at the Thománs ’ in company of the Grubers, Herzfeld, Szendy, and the Dohnányis. “Dohnányi played 2 pieces of chamber music. I was listening.” 9 January - In his letter to his mother he asks for his railway pass of reduced fares, because he is preparing to go to Vienna. He also writes the news heard from Adila Arányi, that Hubay had been praising Bartok during 56
