2nd violin concerto (Bartók)

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The second violin concerto Sz. 112 is a concerto for violin and orchestra by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók .

Work history

Bartók composed the concerto between 1937 and 1938 for his friend, a Hungarian violinist, Zoltán Székely , with whom Bartók had already given a concert. It is the last instrumental concerto that Bartók wrote before he emigrated to the USA in 1940 . The concert came about at a very uncertain time for Bartók, as his last years in Europe were marked by numerous scruples and doubts. The concert was premiered on March 23, 1939 with Székely as soloist and conducted by Willem Mengelberg in Amsterdam . Bartók himself was only able to hear his concert for the first and only time on October 14, 1943, four years after the premiere, in New York at Carnegie Hall .

occupation

2 flutes , second and piccolo , 2 oboe , second and English horn , 2 clarinets , second and bass clarinet , 2 Fagotte, second and Kontrafagott , 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 2 trombones , bass trombone , tuba , timpani , percussion , celesta , Harp , strings

The performance lasts around 35 minutes.

Work description

The second violin concerto, Sz. 112, consists of three movements. Bartók would have preferred to write the concerto as a pure variation for violin and orchestra, but Zoltán Székely insisted on the classical, three-movement form. The basic key is B major.

The first movement (Allegro non troppo) is classically based on the sonata form . The main theme and the final theme are based on the notes B and F , i.e. a tritone spacing instead of the usual fifth spacing . To link these keys, Bartók uses the entire dodecaphonic apparatus of all 12 tones, albeit with a clearly prominent central tone, so the music nevertheless has a strong tonality-relatedness. The first movement gets its lightness from a leisurely marching pace.

The 2nd movement (Andante tranquillo - Allegro scherzando - Tempo I) represents the realization of Bartók's idea of ​​variations. It is a theme with six variations.

The 3rd movement (Allegro molto) uses another classic style element: the rondo . By and large, this third movement can be described as a variation on the first movement.

literature

  • Klaus Schweizer, Arnold Werner-Jensen: Reclam's concert guide . 19th edition. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-15-010793-5 , pp. 744-745 .
  • Bertelsmann Lexicon Institute: Music and Literature . Axel Springer, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-577-07559-6 , pp. 84-85 .