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158.93.6.11
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)
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that by now most professional orchestras have collected the parts for most Bartok works in their music library. Expense is going to be a big factor in the frequency at which any work is played, so orchestras are going to prefer works for which they already have the parts, and after that, works that are out of copyright.
I'm still waiting for the ascendancy of Martinu. I think his music would go over well with audiences. And there are dozens of mid-20th Century composers who wrote wonderful, accessible music that is just not heard in our concert halls.
Actually, some of the really big Bartok works are still under copyright, so they are rental only.
Well so much for that theory. ;)
The question was, why the sudden increase in performances/love for Bartok this year in the concert halls, with many more performances of his music than in the past?
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
... here it is: Because Bartok is awesome.
Seriously, what kind of explanation can you expect? It's good music, long acknowledged as being among the most innovative and influential of its time, and, assuming your premise is correct, it's gaining a larger audience as people become more familiar with it. Isn't that how things are supposed to work?
I've heard the phrase "From Bach to Bartok"....... And great composers have been associated with beginning with the letter "B"....... Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, even the Beatles........... And since Bela Bartok is maybe the most recent well-known "orchestral" composer whose name starts with "B", his notoriety may have been inflated somewhat...........
Edits: 03/15/11
Brigitte Bardot. I've always liked her sonatas.
Hi Amphissa - let's assume for the sake of discussion that those numbers are correct. I still don't see why you think there are suddenly more performances going on over the last two years - based on the numbers you posted, the last few years are right near the average. And the numbers you gave cover only the last several years. I don't think there have been any more or fewer performances on average over the last decade than for the few decades previous. Bartok has always been one of the most popular composers of the modern era.
Another obvious consideration is that Bartok wrote quite a bit fewer major orchestral works than the other composers you mentioned below, and also compared to some others in the early 20th century that have been mentioned, such as Sibelius. This must be taken into account. Another consideration is that quite a large percentage of those 350 orchestras only play probably 5 or 6 concert sets in a season. So if 50 or 60 of them are playing at least one Bartok piece per season, that's quite a bit of Bartok going on all over the country on a very regular basis, and that has been going on for a very long time. Out of all other 20th century composers, only Stravinsky would probably surpass that track record.
Someone else commented on the difficulty level of Bartok's music. This is certainly true; however the technical ability of orchestral musicians has greatly increased over the last few decades, to the point where even a small regional orchestra of the type I mentioned that only does 5 or 6 sets a season can do a fine job on a work of Bartok's. The technical level of kids coming out of the top music schools today is truly astounding - much greater yet than when I came out of school about twenty years ago. Now in many people's opinion, this has come at a bit of a price on the musical side of the equation, but that's an entirely different issue. The point is, even a small regional orchestra should have more than enough technical proficiency to pull off any piece Bartok wrote. And more and more violinists are learning his Second Violin Concerto - one of my fellow students in my undergrad days was one of the winners of the concerto competition with it more than twenty years ago now, and this person does NOT now have a job in one of the full-time orchestras, though he is a major free-lancer in his area, and plays in a very good regional orchestra. There are many, many more great musicians out there than there are good jobs, unfortunately.
All very true, and I didn't mean to imply that regional orchestras don't have excellent players capable of playing the Concerto for Orchestra. But as you mention, in many cases these orchestras have far fewer rehearsals and performances each season and smaller budgets than the "big" orchestras, and I suspect that limits the number of difficult large-scale works they can take on. All things considered, Bartok seems to be reasonably well-represented by the American regional orchestras.
newer composers aren't very popular with concert goers, i.e. those that pay their salaries.
Bartok is traditional, in the music sense, and yet a breath of fresher wind to many. Plus, why should the classic music industry be immune from the phenomenon of "hot?"
While I have no facts or statistics on the subject, and I would cheerfully acknowledge it if you or anyone else proved me wrong, and Wikipedia and answers.com are far from authoritative sources, the (unsubstantiated) statement in the link below that "Bartók's works have steadily risen in popularity since his death" strikes me as more or less accurate.
I don't think one year of statistics from the League of American Orchestras proves anything, whatever those statistics may be. From the beginning of the LP era, Bartok's main orchestral works have always been in print. Benny Goodman and Josef Szigeti commissioned and recorded Contrasts, it was a big hit (by classical standards) from the beginning (admittedly due in part to Goodman's participation) and remains a famous record. The Concerto for Orchestra was a big success from the start, and Koussevitzsky, who commissioned it, called it the best orchestral piece in 25 years. So Bartok is not news.
I get the feeling that you guys think I'm dissing on Bartok. That's not the case. I'm simply asking for some insight, hoping you guys have some thoughts on this particular circumstance.
"While I have no facts or statistics on the subject"
Well, I've presented some. Here are some more.
This is the number of times Bartok was programmed for performance of the 350 members of the American Symphony Orchestra League during this decade (recent years plus sample earlier years):
2008-2009 = 52
2007-2008 = 58
2006-2007 = 56
2005-2006 = 69
2003-2003 = 35
2000-2001 = 42
Here are the total performance numbers for other composers, sample year 2006-2007:
Mozart = 1,400
Beethoven = 948
Tchaikovsky = 581
Brahms = 495
Strauss = 325
Dvorak = 300
Rachmaninoff = 270
Sibelius = 250
Haydn = 250
Prokofiev = 250
Mahler = 225
What I am saying is that the number of symphony programs featuring works by Bartok are, by my estimation, way up this season. I think it very possible that the number of performances his music will move up into the 200s this year.
I'm not asking whether you like the facts or not. Those are the facts. Every member orchestra provides the League office with their programs for the season and the numbers are tallied up. Yes, big orchestras in big cities provide many more concert programs every year and so they would perform Bartok more often than smaller orchestras. These numbers are the totals for all of the member orchestras -- 350 of them.
What I am asking is why the sudden increase this year? Because in my estimation, Bartok is appearing on programs a lot more often than in the past.
It seems like the *new and different and fresh* explanation may be a reasonable guess. But I can't help but think there is something else going on. Because he's suddenly now appearing on top 10 lists as well, which has not been the case in the past. Perhaps he deserves it, but why now, all of a sudden? Is it just a matter of, here's a new composer to give some attention to? And everybody decides that very same thing all at once? Really?
I can't help but be reminded of the situation with Mahler. He was not really ignored up through the 50s. His symphonies got played in concert pretty steadily, much like Bartok today. But then, there was the big surge in the 60s when Mahler's music began to get played more. Lots of people credit Bernstein, but there were a lot of other orchestras that began playing him as well. It was *just* Bernstein.
During the Shostakovich anniversary year a few years ago, every orchestra programmed a bunch of Shostakovich. So we heard a lot of Shostakovich that year. Yes, he had been played before that, and yes he's been played since. But interest in Shostakovich surged that year and has sort of dropped off since then.
So, I can't help but wonder if Bartok is going to be a Mahler, with sustained continuing interest from now on, or whether he's just a passing fancy like Shostakovich, destined to return to the lower frequency of play he's had in the past.
But that's really a secondary issue. I'm really interested in why Bartok *now*? Why not 10 years ago? Why not 10 years from now? Why now?
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
Please understand, I don't have a dog in this fight, but I am curious as to the basis for your statement. There doesn't seem to be anything remarkable in the ASO League statistics for Bartok performances from 2000 to 2009. As I said below, the Concerto for Orchestra, the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta and the piano and violin concerti are major undertakings for a regional orchestra, the concerti especially IMO require major and expensive soloists to do them justice.
If the 2010-2011 season is an especially big Bartok year, I think that's great, but I don't see anything unusual. The NY and LA Philharmonics now have (relatively) young conductors with a strong interest in modern and contemporary music. Some of the veterans, like Michael Tilson Thomas, have had that interest for many years. Programming Bartok is now becoming more like programming Beethoven or Tchaikovsky than a contemporary composer.
for best of that 100 years. Sibelius, Shostakovich, Messiaen, Ravel, Copland, Britten. Then there are the very influential Berg, Schoenberg, Ives, Reich, Glass.....
It's my impression that his violin sonatas get played a lot. But I am not in the US.
"What did the Romans ever do for us?"
I would seriously question those numbers, that seems very low. My orchestra alone has probably played at least five different works by Bartok in the last few seasons. The Concerto for Orchestra comes around at least every four or five years for just about every orchestra in the country that can play it. It is one of the most programmed 20th century works - I would bet that more than 50 orchestras in the country have played it in the last four years.
The Romanian Dances get programmed by many orchestras on children's concerts, which I bet were not included in those numbers. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I have played that one.
I would not say that there has been a surge in popularity - his music has always been liked by audiences. Well crafted music has a way of impressing itself on the most casual listener, and Bartok is certainly one of the greatest craftsmen in the history of music. His use of folk tunes, or themes based on them, makes a big difference. Even if the tunes are not recognized, the folk aspect is, and this resonates with most listeners even if they are not aware of it. If you want to introduce a friend to 20th century music, you can't do any better than Bartok.
As you say, the Concerto for Orchestra and the other major orchestral works, and certainly the piano and violin concerti, are a lot for the smaller regional orchestras or lesser soloists to handle. But the major American and visiting European orchestras schedule them consistently, which isn't surprising, since they give major virtuoso performers a chance to strut their stuff.
I did not make up the numbers. The performance records for all 350 members of the League of American Orchestras is available on their website. Check them out for yourself. I count 52 performances total by the 350 orchestras during the 2008-2009 season.
Orchestra Record Reports, 2008-2009 Season
for a long time and if he is getting played more at concerts I'm glad. I became a fan when I first heard chamber works by him back in college, over 40 years ago. My fascination continues to this day. I had the same experience with my children as John N. When I would play play Bartok, it got their attention, almost no matter what they were doing. I'd see them moving with the rhythm. The only other composers I saw affect them like that were Mozart and Vivaldi.
... to see if there are any statistical trends over the past 50-60 years, but the sample size here is too small to draw any conclusions. In any case Bartok has been part of the mainstream, central repertoire for some time. Some of Bartok's works--especially the Concerto for Orchestra, but also the piano concertos, string quartets and a few others--have been among the most popular 20th century works almost since their debuts.
True, the 19th century Germans tend to be the enduring favorites among the general public, and Bartok isn't as popular as Mozart. But he's long been recognized as one of the two or three greatest 20th century composers--I would say Stravinsky is probably even greater, but beyond that only Debussy compares--which certainly qualifies him as one of the all time greats.
Of all the different 20th century composers I have played at home, the one that my children (aged 7 and 9) immediately took a great liking to was Bartok. I put on Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta, and they almost immediately said they liked it, and to play more music like that. Concerto for Orchestra was similarly popular with them.
William Austin, in his seminal book "Music in the 20th Century" (Norton, 1966) considers the four "pillars" of this era to be: Bartok, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and believe it or not, American jazz.
Bartok is chosen for the originality and modernity of his harmonic idiom, which is traceable to the Eastern European folk music that he and Kodaly collected.
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"You weren't afraid of being born--why would you be afraid of dying?" Alan Watts
But I have always considered Bartok the only twentieth-century European in the Pantheon, ever since I played some of the Mikrokosmos on the piano--the simplest ones--and heard from my own fingers that depth he could render from a very few notes.
The very first piano music I ever played, aged 6. IMO, only Bach wrote as skillfully for children.
His quartets, too, are notable. Orchestral performances are not the only measure.
Kal
Bartok's piano concertos 1 and 2, and the second violin concerto are masterpieces. I'm particularly fond of the second piano concerto, although the all-wind instrumentation and the often-percussive piano writing can come across as shrill and brittle on a lot of well performed recordings (e.g., Pollini/Abbado, Andnes/Boulez). The Bronfman Salonen LA Phil performance has great sound and it's a hell of a performance available in a cheap Sony reissue.
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