Bartók: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano (Mvt I + II)

Yehudi Menuhin (violin) and Jeremy Menuhin with Thea King, clarinet.

Bartók: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano, Sz. 111

I. Recruiting Dance. Moderato, ben ritmato
II. Relaxation. Lento


go here to see the last movement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Nhw1...

Filmed at the ORTF, Paris, 03/12/72

by Eric Tishkoff:

What started in August 1938 as a casual conversation between József Szigeti and Benny Goodman very quickly turned into a significant chamber work by one of the world's leading composers, Béla Bartók (1881-1945). Szigeti, a pre-eminent violinist of the time, sent the request to Bartók-although, it was the world-renown jazz clarinetist Goodman who officially commissioned (i.e., paid for) the work. In his letter, Szigeti requested a duo for clarinet and violin with piano accompaniment, consisting of two contrasting movements, 6-7 minutes in duration, with cadenzas for both the clarinet and violin.

Szigeti was probably expecting a short, flashy show-tune, in which case, he got much more than he bargained for. Janos Karpati writes (Bartok's Chamber Music, Stuyvesant, NY, Pendragon Press, 1976, p. 476) "Despite the commission, Bartók composed not what is known as a concert piece, but a chamber-music work, a worthy cousin of the string quartets and sonatas, which in both its material and structure follows the laws of chamber-music form."

Contrasts is a three movement work nearly three times the duration of the original request. The music is an amalgam of abstracted Hungarian folk music combined with Rumanian dance melodies, Bulgarian and Greek meters, and a highly personalized, first-class command of 20th century compositional techniques. The second movement was omitted from the first performance. Apparently, Bartók was trying to adhere strictly to the original commission for two movements. However, internal evidence convincingly suggests that the middle movement was conceived along with the other two.

Verbunkos, the first movement, is based on a dance, and characterized by a bouncy rhythmic figure (dotted eight-sixteenth) and passages that alternate between slow determination and medium agitation. The second movement, Piheno (relaxation), is purely atmospheric. Its lack of a strong pulse stands in contrast to the driving beats in both the outer movements.

• Category

  Music

[xHuntedGunzPCGx]

This piece is amazing.

[JORGE ALBERTO BARON]

GRAN COMPOSITOR

[F Stöver]

Well, Bartok was after all, Hungarian. If any of it sounds "Jewish" it's because the Jews borrowed heavily from east European folk music. Klezmer is a good example of the borrowing that went on.

[Alfonso Pacpaco]

my son has one. but we're from Philippines

[taylor patterson]

sounds a real lot like the Clubfoot Orchestra

[israel zohar]

Fantastic music,great performgance'30years ago I was playing this music the worlds classical and fol and it gave mee a push to play my Jewish music - klezmer Israel Zohar Israeli philharmonic orchestrra member & klezmer klezmer (only) all over my country (Israel) it has the best of

[realself1]

polyphony

[COUTANT7]

Tout simplement énorme

[Ian Scarfe]

Always amazes me to see Menuhin with his face completely buried in the score. Maybe just because the camera was on and he didn't want to look up?

[rakewell2]

it's understandable. though it wasn't Bartok's intention. It probably sounds "jewish" because of the clarinet and the east-european feel.

[kenny13890]

hahahaha awesome glad i heard this before i died