Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
School Years (1890–1903)
SCHOOL YEARS (1 890-1 903) 1903 Grünfelds in Vienna on 3 February (this got modified to the Fitzners ’ concert). 24 September - Letter to Lajos Dietl in Vienna concerning his Vienna trip in November. 25 September - He writes a picture postcard to his sister Böske. 30 September - He leaves Gmunden. He arrives in Leipzig through Bavaria, changing trains six times. 1 October - From Leipzig he sends a picture postcard to his sister in Pozsony, mentioning that he has difficulties understanding the Saxon dialect. Then he travels on to Berlin, where he rents accommodation at 30 Kurfürstenstrasse for a stay of 2 and a half months. He carries several letters of recommendation, one of them being Jenő Hubays to Joachim, and he listens to 4 concerts already in the first days. 6 October and again on the 9th he writes his sister in Pozsony, and asks them to send him 50 forints. He is trying to contact concert manager Grosz, who went on a trip, and it looks like he is not keeping his “splendid” September offer. He also pays a visit to Godowski who welcomes him with pleasure, and recommends him to a family called Katzenellenbogen. 10 October - His new acquaintances invite him to lunch, also expecting his presence the next day. 11 October - In the morning he listens to a Weingartner concert which he finds very beautiful; in the evening he also goes to a concert: he doesn’t like Frederick Lamond’s playing. - He writes Thomán about his first experiences, and asks him to request a letter of recommendation from Gianicelli to Richard Strauss - because Godowski has a bad relationship with him, so he doesn’t agree to acquaint them. 12 October - He writes a postcard to his sister, and asks her to send him his 4 songs and the 101 Hungarian “folk songs” in her possession. 28 October - In Berlin he visits his sonata partner of 1902, Hartmann, who has got married in the meantime. He spends the evening at Godowski’s, 67
