Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
War Years (1914–1919)
WAR YEARS (1914-1919) 1915 exceedingly; he doesn’t sleep that night, goes in to Budapest already at dawn and from there back to Gödöllő. After being found unsuitable, he sends a telegram to his mother: “I was thrown out even the fourth time”. He goes up to Budapest to the Kodálys ’. 29 November - From here he describes the circumstances of the conscription in really long letters to his wife in Szilad and to his mother in Pozsony: “... And at 13:30 I was already standing in a naked row in front of the suprême tribunal ... As far as I could judge, in that row of twenty I was the weakest”. Mrs Kodály adds a postscript to both letters, writing that Kodály would go to the conscription on 12 December. 3 December - From Rákoskeresztúr Bartok writes his wife in Szilad, that if it is necessary and good, she should stay on. With the passing of time he thinks again that he could continue his work of collecting, but his mother writes on 9 December: “I hardly believe you could go collecting this year, they would take it badly if anyone wanted to make people left home sing”. 27 December - Bartok writes again to Jon Bianu in Bucharest about the difficulties regarding the publication of the Máramaros volume. 1915 19 February - He writes Bianu again, alluding to his December letter left unanswered. He informs Bianu that he is planning to go to Leipzig during the cutting of the Máramaros volume, and hopes to find the means to publish the opus after the war. He is still restless about the unfinished folk song collecting. He notes down a few Slovakian songs in Rákoskeresztúr, then travels to Zólyom county during the Easter holidays. 3 April - On the train from Fülek (Nógrád county) to Besztercebánya he writes his wife in Szilad. He gives a detailed account of the household 155
