09-29-2016, 01:22 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-29-2016, 01:47 PM by Eric the Green.)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945) was one of the best composers of the 20th century. His output, dating from the age of 9, is huge and it would be a long task to pick out his best, but I always liked his piano works. Here is a very good concerto for two pianos, percussion and orchestra from 1940, which reflects the doom of the approaching storm, his imminent emigration that year from fascist Hungary, and his own incipient illness.
According to wikipedia: "Bartók's style in his art music compositions was a synthesis of folk music, classicism, and modernism. His melodic and harmonic sense was profoundly influenced by the folk music of Hungary, Romania, and other nations. He was especially fond of the asymmetrical dance rhythms and pungent harmonies found in Bulgarian music. Most of his early compositions offer a blend of nationalist and late Romanticism elements."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Bart%C3%B3k
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co...art%C3%B3k
Brower's remark "what could be more American than a monumental achievement by a sojourner" reminds me that under Trump, the refugee Bartok would not have been allowed in.
According to wikipedia: "Bartók's style in his art music compositions was a synthesis of folk music, classicism, and modernism. His melodic and harmonic sense was profoundly influenced by the folk music of Hungary, Romania, and other nations. He was especially fond of the asymmetrical dance rhythms and pungent harmonies found in Bulgarian music. Most of his early compositions offer a blend of nationalist and late Romanticism elements."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Bart%C3%B3k
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co...art%C3%B3k
Brower's remark "what could be more American than a monumental achievement by a sojourner" reminds me that under Trump, the refugee Bartok would not have been allowed in.