Gergely Pál: Bartók Béla ismeretlen levelei a Tudományos Akadémia Könyvtárában (A MTAK kiadványai 22. Budapest, 1961)

Unknown letters of BÉLA BARTÓK in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Published by PÁL GERGELY T I he Manuscript Department of the Academy Library recently received letters I,II,and IV of the six here published, as a donation from János Bartók, a research worker on music and nephew of the great composer. Letter III was purchased from the estate of Robert Gragger through the good offices of István S/.egzárdy—Csengery, a member of the Library staff. Finally the Bartók letters V and VI were discovered in the so-called Academy Archives of the Manuscript Department of the Library, attached to the minutes of meetings. By courtesy of János Bartók, the Library has moreover been able to acquire several mere highly valuable Bartók relics, letters, postcards and autographed concert programs. Particularly treasured are some letters addressed to the Master by his father, whose right of publication the family has — for understandable reasons — reserved for itself, for a later date. The present private letters of Bartók are. of course, being published with full permission from Bartók's widow, the artist Ditta Pás/tory. * All his letters are lent particular value by the manly, uncompromising tone that is so characteristic of Bartók, and by the artist's and the educator's sense of integrity which he voices in some of them. Moreover, another noteworthy trait of the great composer and artist was his scholarly thoroughness and the minute attention to detail which he devoted to the preparation and editing of the German-language version of the great, comprehensive work on folklore, his penetrating

, scholarly volume on "Hungarian folkmusic", as evidenced by his long letter (No. Ill) to Gragger. His sense of duty towards the Hungarian Academy of Sciences which elected Bartók to its membership, was so great that he hastened within a year of his election to satisfy its requirements and hold his inaugural lecture, as the last two published letters show. I. To Géza Bartók Esq., Statistical Department. Ministry of Agriculture. [Postmark: June 12th, 1911.] Dear Uncle Gc/.a,

1 unfortunately nothing can be done in the matter of the Simonyi girl, because she is a hopelessly untalented pianist. A year's laborious teaching has made it perfectly obvious that she will hardly be able to make a career in music. She can not only not bo admitted to become a public student at the Academy of Music, but even as a private one she could only finish with clemency pass-marks, with which she would not be able to obtain a diploma. You might explain to her protector that at the Academy of Music — at least in my case — we are very strict about admission and marking. I may even 1 The ministerial official who is the addressee, was Bő la Bartók's uncle who had recommended the unknown Simony! girl for entrance examinations at the Academy of Music — obviously at the request of one of his superiors. 1 I