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

Connecting to the Music Life of Europe (1904–1906)

CONNECTING TO THE MUSIC LIFE OF EUROPE (1 904-1 906)

1904

Afterwards he returns to Gerlice Puszta.

18 September - Finally Fancy No. 1 is published in print (by Bárd).

From

Gerlice Puszta

he

sends Kálmán

Harsányi and

István

Thomán a

copy each. To Harsányi

he

returns some of his poems, writing that of these he feels like putting music to the one entitled “Thirteen (of Arad)”. (It didn’t come true.) - To Thomán

he

writes (already in familiar terms) that he is working on the orchestration of Scherzo, because the Philharmonics want to perform it in the springtime. (This didn’t happen.)

1 November

- He writes his sister from Gerlice Puszta:

“

5 more days.”

2 November

- Letter to István

Thomán about

his passing through Budapest on 8 November, and wanting to present him the programme of the Pozsony concert.

7 or

8 November - From Gerlice Puszta

he

travels to Pozsony

via

Budapest.

10 November

- Piano recital in the Great Hall of the Pozsony

City

Hall. In the programme there were 3 works by Liszt: Variations on a theme by Bach (Weinen, Klagen), Funérailles,

Mephisto

Valse

No.

1, Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 26, Chopin’s Ballad in F

minor,

Schumann’s Carnival, and 2 transcriptions: Chopin-Godowski’s Valse

and

Strauss-Bartok’s Longing. The concert went really well, except it exhausted him. He was especially intrigued by Liszt’s works, and wrote Kálmán

Harsányi that within a couple of days he would send him “an interesting notice” concerning these.

11 November

- From Pozsony

he

sends a postcard to István

Thomán.

16 November

- In Pozsony

his

sister’s marriage to Emil

Oláh Tóth, overseer

at the Wenckheim estate of Szilad

Puszta (in

the vicinity of the already mentioned Kertmeg Puszta)

belonging

to Vésztő

community,

Békés

county.

17 November

- Bartok then leaves Pozsony

for

Vienna.

21 November - Premiere of Piano quintet at the Ehrbar

Hall

of Vienna with the Prill-Jeral Quartet. The performance “was in serious danger 75