Two seasons ago, of the 350 members of the League of American Orchestras, about 50 concerts around the country included a work by Bartok. In other words, only 15% of American orchestras played anything at all by Bartok.
The most commonly played works in the past have been the Miraculous Mandarin Suite and the Concerto for Orchestra, with an occasional nod in the direction of Bluebeard.
This season, it is like a Bartok bonanza. Every orchestra is playing Bartok, it seems, and not just once. Many orchestras are including several Bartok pieces in their season. The various concertos for viola, violin, and piano are popping up all over.
Last month, the NY Times pundit included Bartok in his Top 10 Greatest list. Two years ago, Bartok would not have been in the top 20 list of most critics.
I'm curious why the sudden love affair with Bartok. It's not an anniversary year of his birth or death, so that's not the explanation. Has Bartok really ascended to that rarified top tier of composers? Or is this just one of those bandwagon things, orchestras wanting to offer something different from Stravinsky as their token modernist?
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Topic - The Ascendancy of Bartok - Amphissa 07:25:45 03/14/11 (27)
- Well...it's good, fun music! nt - jdaniel@jps.net 20:29:51 03/17/11 (0)
- My theory is... - Daverz 15:48:49 03/17/11 (2)
- RE: My theory is... - learsfool 22:29:03 03/17/11 (1)
- RE: My theory is... - Daverz 03:20:39 03/19/11 (0)
- In other words -- nobody knows? - Amphissa 07:57:16 03/15/11 (9)
- Well, OK, if you must have the definitive answer... - M. Lucky 11:15:17 03/17/11 (0)
- A Composer Whose Name Begins with "B"............ - Todd Krieger 22:28:34 03/15/11 (1)
- Bartok has double the "effect." And then there's that subconscious linkage to - tinear 08:46:19 03/16/11 (0)
- RE: In other words -- nobody knows? - learsfool 19:28:33 03/15/11 (1)
- RE: In other words -- nobody knows? - rbolaw 10:22:01 03/16/11 (0)
- Pure guess: in searching for "new" or novelty works, many orchestras and conductors are finding that the - tinear 12:13:17 03/15/11 (0)
- I don't agree with your premise - rbolaw 08:35:20 03/15/11 (2)
- RE: I don't agree with your premise - Amphissa 16:04:40 03/15/11 (1)
- "By your estimation"? - rbolaw 16:30:20 03/15/11 (0)
- Top 10 of the last century, sure. But he has lots of competition - tinear 02:14:37 03/15/11 (0)
- I wonder if he hasn't done better with chamber music - Frihed89 00:49:09 03/15/11 (0)
- RE: The Ascendancy of Bartok - learsfool 22:26:28 03/14/11 (2)
- Well said, I agree 100 percent - rbolaw 10:06:49 03/15/11 (0)
- RE: The Ascendancy of Bartok - Amphissaq 07:53:14 03/15/11 (0)
- Bartok's genius has been recognized - boboli 15:54:18 03/14/11 (0)
- It might be interesting... - M. Lucky 12:36:51 03/14/11 (0)
- RE: The Ascendancy of Bartok - John N 08:54:48 03/14/11 (0)
- For what it's worth... - C.B. 08:37:14 03/14/11 (0)
- Can't explain popularity - mwhitmore 08:15:27 03/14/11 (3)
- Mikrokosmos - rbolaw 14:19:21 03/14/11 (0)
- Good point. - Kal Rubinson 08:37:12 03/14/11 (1)
- Check out the concertos - pbarach 15:52:40 03/14/11 (0)