"It is a pity that I have to leave with a full suitcase"
The last of the three piano concertos by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was composed in 1945 in New York, where he had arrived in October 1940, fleeing the Nazi barbarism in the company of his wife, Ditta Pasztory. The Concerto is dedicated to her as a birthday present. On the last page of the score, the composer noted, in Hungarian, the word vége (end). It was the last thing he wrote. That same night he was taken from his apartment on 57th Street to a hospital on the west side of Manhattan, where he died four days later, on September 26, 1945. He was 64.
In the States
The last five years of his life were spent in the United States. They were not particularly productive years. Nor were they happy ones. The first two years he wrote nothing and from 1942 onwards his health suddenly weakened, then worsened and the maestro seemed unable to recover. But in May 1943, a Russian conductor's commission of a Concerto for Orchestra brought him back to life. The music flowed again, until 1945, the year that marked a high point. Unfortunately, there was little time left.
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| Béla Barók (1881 - 1945) |
For the first time in years, Bartók worked on two significant pieces simultaneously: the Viola Concerto and the Third Piano Concerto. And when he left his apartment for the last time he had a new string quartet in draft form and was considering a commission for a concerto for two pianos requested by a pair of pianists.
This resurgence of such activity was likely motivated by an awareness of his failing health. It is said that when he arrived at the hospital he would have said: "It is a pity that I have to leave with a full suitcase".
Piano Concerto No. 3, in E major
Unlike his two previous concertos, Concerto No. 3 does not demand of the performer superb virtuosity. Nor does it exhibit a notorious modernism but rather a strong adherence to traditional models and forms. Even the Hungarian melodic and rhythmic elements, while present, are less pronounced than in the previous concertos.
A warm, melodic, and popularly appealing work.
It premiered on February 8, 1946, with György Sándor at the piano accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.
Movements:
00:00 Allegretto
08:10 Adagio religioso
17:40 Allegro vivace
The performance is by the Hungarian pianist András Schiff, accompanied by the Hallé Orchestra (Manchester-based symphony orchestra) conducted by Sir Mark Elder.
