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)

1905

family of grammar-school teacher Ödön

Hendel, an

old schoolmate and friend.

26 May

- He has lunch at the Grubers’ and meets Kodály

again.

At the end of May (date on postcard is incomplete) - He writes a postcard to his sister in Vésztő

to

thank her for the kind invitation, adding that he would arrive complete with a piano.

8 June

- He is preparing to go to his sister s in Vésztő-Szilád

Puszta.

18 June

- From Szilad

Puszta he

goes on a half-hour visit to the neighbouring Kertmeg Puszta,

to

the Antal Göllners

(the

Emma

Voits).

20 June

- From Szilad

he

writes both István

Thomán and

Lajos Dietl that he got an invitation to Manchester for 23 November, and asks both of them to get his papers translated into French so that he could keep the 18 July application deadline for the Rubinstein competition. - Barbecue in the evening.

21 June

- He receives the authenticated translation of his papers from Thomán, and

thanks him at once on a postcard. Mrs Emil

Tóth writes their mother: “

Béla is

in good spirits, he is collecting bugs and Hungarian songs”.

27 June

- On a postcard written to Thomán,

Bartok

inquires about the Kossuth, if Kodály

retrieved

it.

28 July

- He travels from Vésztő

to

Békés,

where

he visits the Ernő

Voits

to see their newborn baby girl, Évi

Voit.

From

here he proceeds to Békéscsaba from

where he writes a postcard to Szilad,

then

leaves for Budapest.

29 July

- From Budapest he writes yet another postcard to his sister in Szilad.

1 August

- From Zurich he writes a postcard to his brother-in-law, Emil Tóth in

Szilad.

From

there he proceeds to Paris, where he takes accommodation in Pension de

Famille at

18 Rue

Clément-Marot.

3 August

- The beginning of the Rubinstein Piano Competition. Bartok plays a ballad and a nocturne by Chopin.

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