• Most Respected Classical Music Platform
  • #classicalForever
TOP

Bartok's First Violin Concerto Premiered in 1958

The world premiere was given by Swiss violinist, Hansheinz Schneeberger, 50 years after it was written

 

Born in 1881, Hungarian composer Béla Bartók made his public debut as a pianist at age 11 and attended Budapest's Royal Academy of Music where he studied composition and piano with László Erkel, János Koessler, and István Thoman.

Bartók's reputation as a great pianist began to spread throughout the academy, specifically praised for his performances of Liszt's works. His contemporaries at the Budapest Royal Academy of Music included fellow composer Zoltán Kodály, with whom he later collaborated to collect Hungarian folk songs in order to transcribe and analyze them.

Among Bartok's many works is his Violin Concerto No. 1, written in 1907-1908. It premiered many years later on May 30th, 1958, when it was performed by Swiss violinist Hansheinz Schneeberger. The concerto was dedicated to Stefi Geyer, an accomplished violinist Bartók had fallen in love with. Geyer did not feel the same way about Bartók and rejected not only him but the concerto as well.

As a result, the concerto was left in a drawer for more than fifty years without anyone being aware of the work. Geyer did not tell anyone about the existence of the concerto until she was on her deathbed leading to the work's posthumous publication.

The form of the concerto itself differs from the conventional form in that it has two movements as opposed to three. The two-movement structure is one of a slow movement followed by a fast one. Bartók uses this identical rhapsodic form in his Op. 1 Rhapsody for piano and orchestra.

Bartók used parts of the first movement as the first of the Two Portraits, Op. 5, representing Stefi Geyer. It is speculated that the second movement is a self-portrait of Béla Bartók himself.

 

CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF | BARTÓK VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1| HANNU LINTU & THE FINNISH RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

 

 

upcoming events

march 2024

16marAll Day20Music Teachers National Association National Conference(All Day) The Westin Peachtree Plaza, 210 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303Event Type :conferences & tradeshows Event Tagschamber music,Chamber Music America,Conferences,Music Teachers National Association National ConferenceFOLLOW

17marAll Day21Tokyo Classic Violin Competition(All Day) Tokyo University of the Arts, 12-8 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-8714, JapanEvent Type :competitions Event TagsClassic Violin Olympus International Competition,violin competitionFOLLOW

20marAll Day23American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference(All Day) Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202Event Type :conferences & tradeshows Event TagsAmerican String Teachers Association,American String Teachers Association National Conference,ASTA,conferenceFOLLOW

april 2024

01aprAll Day05Vienna Classic Violin Competition(All Day) Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, Johannesgasse 4a 1010 Vienna, AustriaEvent Type :competitions Event TagsClassic Violin Olympus International Competition,violin competitionFOLLOW

23aprAll Day26Lyon International Chamber Music Competition(All Day) Université Lumière Lyon 2, 18 quai Claude Bernard 69365 Lyon, FranceEvent Type :competitions Event Tagschamber music,chamber music competition,Lyon International Chamber Music CompetitionFOLLOW

CONTACT US
x

Get ALL our latest conveniently by EMAIL

Our newsletter is trusted by over 100,000+ industry professionals around the world

We deliver news straight to your inbox and will never share your data.
You'll never miss a beat!

click left click right