Hungarian Heritage Review, 1988 (17. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1988-06-01 / 6. szám

HÁROM KIS LÁNY:

THE ARÁNYI SISTERS AND BÉLA BARTÓK- BY -MALCOLM GILLIES

EDITOR’S NOTE: Malcolm Gillies is an Australian musicologist with a special interest in Hungarian music. He has visited Budapest many times to work at the Bartók Archive, and has also studied the valuable materials of Bartók’s American estate on several occasions. During 1988 his book Bartók in Britain: A Guided Tour will appear from Oxford University Press and further volumes about Bartók’s life and music are in press or in progress for Garland, Fabers and OUP. On two occasions Dr. Gillies has been fortunate to work in Chicago on the substantial collection of Bartók and Aranyi materials owned by Chef Louis Szathmáry. It is on the foundation of that collection that this article has been written.

The Arányi Sisters (from left to right): Hortense, Adila, and Jelly

Jelly Arányi was a dynamic personality. At the time of her most intense involvement with Bartók in the early 1920’s she was at the height of her powers, both professionally and personally. Although of Hungarian origin, she had been afforded ready access to the highest of London’s social, artistic and intellectual circles. She was well known among the Bloomsbury Group, an object of the affections of such famous men as Edward Elgar, Aldous Huxley and Donald Tovey, and a close friend of war-time British Prime Minister

Herbert Asquith.

Jelly and her older sisters Adrienne (Adila) and Hortense (Titi) were widely known for their gaiety and wit, their lack of social pretension and their great musical gifts. Jelly had studied violin in Budapest under the famous teacher Jenő Hubay, while Adila had received the additional benefit of tuition in Berlin. While still in their teens both had embarked upon international careers. Eventually, Jelly’s talents and

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HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW

JUNE 1988