Violin Concerto No. 2 (Bartók)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2, BB 117 (written 1937–8) was dedicated to the Hungarian violin virtuoso, Zoltán Székely, who requested the composition, and is a prime example of verbunkos style.

It has the following three movements:

1. Allegro non troppo
2. Andante tranquillo
3. Allegro molto

The first movement is a sonata form in B minor. The second movement is a theme and variations in G major. The finale is based on material in the opening movement. Bartók's original ending was purely orchestral, but Székely objected to this, so the composer wrote an alternative ending to meet Székely's taste. Today, both endings are used.

The work was premiered at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on March 23, 1939 with Zoltán Székely, violin and Willem Mengelberg conducting the Concertgebouw orchestra.

Alan Walker, in Franz Liszt: the Weimar Years, points out the similarity between the compositional technique used by Liszt in his Faust Symphony, in which the finale's themes are entirely variations of themes used in the opening "Faust" movement, and this concerto.

[edit] External link

• Phillip Huscher. Béla Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2, Program notes. Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved on October 9, 2006.