A thesis in music literature submitted to the graduate faculty of texas tech university in partial fulfillment of. Orchestra, viola sheet music book by bela bartok 18811945. Bela bartok 18811945 viola concerto i moderato ii adagio religioso i allegro vivace tabea zimmermann, viola symphonieorchester des. Bartok is considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Baiba skride and the baron feilitzsch, heermann stradivari of 1734.
The orchestra consists of two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and english horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons, four. Bartok viola concerto edition neubauer viola sheet music. Bartok was initially reluctant when he was approached by primrose in 1945, saying that he did not know enough. Hugh macdiarmid, the scottish poet, said the other day relative to the output of certain contemporary artists the only true criterion is quality quantity doesnt matter a damn. Journal of the american viola society volume 15 no. The story of how the concerto came to be, from its commissioning by primrose to its first performance to the several. A context for bela bartok on the eve of world war ii. At first the composer was unsure of his ability to write a work for the viola. Montreal symphony orchestranaganodumay onyx kate molleson. The impetus for the new concerto came from deans observation that we are. The three piano concertos of bela bartok by alice terese stewart, b. The viola concerto is built around the key center a and is filled with chromaticism, traditional church modes, wholetone and octatonic sections, various pitch collections, and folk tunes. Concerto for orchestra, second violin fifth movement. Tells the intriguing story of bela bartoks viola concerto, a work left unfinished at his death in 1945.
Bela bartok was one of the major and most important composers of the 20 th century. Yet, while no definitive version of the work exists, this concerto has become arguably the mostperformed viola concerto in the world. Pointing to these manuscript sheets, i inquired about the viola concerto. Isaac stern 19202001, violin with the new york philharmonic conducted by leonard bernstein 19181990. Recorded on january 26th, 1958 at columbias 30th st. Bartok, leopold stokowski conducting the houston symphony orchestra bartok, leopold stokowski conducting the houston symphony orchestra concerto for orchestra. Rice university the evolution of viola playing as heard. Cl, 2bsn 1dcbsn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, timp, perc, cel. Along with the walton viola concerto, it is among the most popular viola works of all time. It was a tremendously prolific year, seeing the composition of some of schnittkes most famous, personalitydefining workshis string trio, his third concerto grosso, the first two movements of his first cello concerto, and his viola concerto. He was a solitary figure in many ways and his music is highly individual. Journal of the american viola society volume 17 no.
Bartok, like his friend zoltan kodaly, was the best known collector of folk music in hungary. There was a reason for my curiosity, for it was known to several of bartoks friends that earlier in the year he had accepted a commission to write a concerto for viola and orchestra for william primrose. Bartok viola concerto, sheet music, scores bartok, bela. A study of bela bartoks cello concerto a monograph submitted to the graduate faculty of the louisiana state university and agricultural and mechanical college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of musical arts in the school of music by ning tien scialla b. Bartok also derives all of the third movement from the musical material of the. Despite a lugubrious deathsong as the third movement elegia, the concertos general lightness, humour and systematic exposure of all parts of the orchestra made it an immediate success when it was performed in late 1944 by the boston symphony. To download pdf, click the download pdf button below the appropriate sheet music image. Bartoks viola concerto the remarkable story of his swansong donald maurice studies in musical genesis, structure, and interpretation. Bartoks viola concerto 1995 version begins slowly, the viola solo is accompanied with timpani notes. Every true work of art arises out of the particular and real alternatives of its time. Orchestra, piano sheet music book by bela bartok 18811945.
Historically and musically he is one of the most important composers of all time. The piece was commissioned by william primrose, a respected violist who knew that bartok could provide a challenging piece for him to perform. Baiba skride plays the baron feilitzsch, heermann stradivari of 1734 belonging to gidon kremer. Viola concerto 1945 completed 1949 by tibor serly the famous violist william primrose commissioned bartoks viola concerto in 1945. I will begin with tibor serlys piece, because i liked this piece the best.
Firstly, because his music is, in the main, highly original. He began composing his viola concerto while living in saranac lake. It is one of his bestknown, most popular and most accessible works. Academy of music and drama, university of gothenburg. He adds a fourth category of hybrid themes arising from the direct merger of. Asbell, stephanie ames, 1970share facebook twitter linkedin. The sonata for solo violin was composed by bela bartok in 1944 as a commission by the american. Violin excerpts for educational purposes only mendelssohn. The disc contains three compositions, namely, bartoks concerto for viola 1995 version tracks, bartoks concerto for viola 1949 version tracks 68, bartoks two pictures tracks 45, and tibor serlys rhapsody for viola and orchestra track 9. But by early 1945 his career as a pianist was over. Drawing on interviews and documents that reveal previously unavailable information, it discusses the. He had been ill for several years, and he undoubtedly understood that his life was drawing to a close. At 2 min, the viola begins a quick motif, like this. The great baroque, classical and romantic composers combined quality with quantity think of the outputs of handel, bach, mozart, haydn, beethoven, wagner and strauss.
It was premiered on december 1, 1944, in symphony hall, boston, by the boston symphony orchestra conducted by serge koussevitzky. The concerto for orchestra finished on 8 october 1943 was the outcome. Baron feilitzsch was an amateur player, and hugo heermann was a german violinist who. In addition he is, without doubt, a very great composer. Since this work was first published after 1924 with the prescribed notice, it is unlikely that this work is public. The swedish and us premieres are planned for the 200708 season.
Bartok viola concerto download free sheet music and scores. He began composing his viola concerto while living in saranac lake, new york, in july 1945. In a sense it was a premiere for the bartok concerto. During the composers life, it was known simply as his violin concerto. The means for the dynamic rendering of these alternatives is what we are accustomed to call style, which requires a twofold investigation. Allegro molto victor 78rpm album dm 1120 119557 119561 recorded january 1516, 1946 digital transfer by f. Even bella bartok employs a few harmonics in his 1945 viola concerto. The concerto for orchestra was composer bela bartoks last completed work. To view the first page of bartok concert for viola edition neubauer click the music sheet image. Doctor of musical arts performance, august 20, 43 pp. The first movement is in sonata form, and begins with the viola playing in a soloistic manner, accompanied only by soft pizzicato celli.