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

Great Concert Tours on Two Continents (1922–1931)

1931

CHRONICLES OF BÉLA

BARTOK'S

LIFE

Honour, but also mentions that typically no significant Bartok work has been played in Paris in the last 5 years.

25 March

- He spends his 50th birthday quietly at home, in family circle, in total absence of official organisations.

26 March

- He thanks Universal Edition for their birthday congratulations.

27 March

- He listens in company to the Radio Pozsony

broadcast

of the performance of Rhapsody, 4 Hungarian Folk Songs, and Rumanian Dances.

Difficulties surrounding the premiere of The Miraculous Mandarin still haven’t ceased.

28 March

- Hungarian Radio announces in its evening news that the premiere got postponed until the autumn. (Eventually even that got cancelled.)

29 March

- Some of the morning papers criticise strongly the wrangling around The Miraculous Mandarin.

30 March

- Bartok poses questions to Matica Slovenská

concerning

the technical editing and translation of the Slovakian collection.

1 and

2 April - He visits his mother and aunt, telling them that the text of his 10 March lecture will be published in Üj

Idők (New

Times). On the 2nd he reaches an agreement with the Rózsavölgyi

and

Co. firm about the publication of Gertler s transcription of Sonatina.

4 April

- In his letter to the Budapest Opera House he demands that they return The Miraculous Mandarin, and returns the advance received on it, which he scornfully values 2 pengős

and

40 fillérs

with

conversion due to inflation.

5 April,

Easter Sunday - He brings his mother New York reviews about the success of String Quartet No. 4.

12 April

- He discusses with his mother the difficulties in relation to the residence permit, and writes ITHMA.

14 April

- He thanks István

László Németh for

the 27 March Pozsony

performance that he managed to listen to on the radio at that time,

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