Bartók Concerto for Orchestra.... now available for piano
(January 2002)
Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra is one of the most performed of 20th century works, programmed as a showcase by orchestras around the world. For those wanting to explore the work at the keyboard, the composer's own piano reduction, edited by György Sándor, has just been published for sale for the first time by Boosey & Hawkes. The score also includes a facsimile of the composer's manuscript of the piano score.
In the preface to the new publication, the composer's son Peter Bartók explains the genesis of this version of the work: "Béla Bartók completed the full score of his Concerto for Orchestra in the autumn of 1943. Even before its world premiere he received a proposal for the work to be performed in conjunction with a ballet. He was notified by his publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, New York, of the offer by the Ballet Theater in a letter dated 13 November 1943. For a fee of $500 the composer was to prepare a piano reduction and, once the ballet was actually in production, to make any changes in the work that might be requested. The piano reduction was to be recorded and the recording used for rehearsals. On 6 January 1944 the publisher confirmed the Ballet Theater's commitment to produce the ballet 'either during the autumn of 1944 or during the 1945 season', and asked that the composer 'start work on the piano score immediately'. He obliged, and by 27 January 1944 he was in a position to report to the publisher that 'the piano score is practically ready, except the last two pages and dynamic marks'. On 2 February 1944 he posted the manuscript... There is no record on file indicating that any ballet performance ever took place."
Other recent Bartók publications for piano include a corrected edition of the Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, op.20. This is a new computer-set score edited by Peter Hennings and Nelson Dellamaggiore, examining all extant sources, taking in corrections by the composer. The publication includes a preface by Peter Bartók with details of sources, plus a list of the Hungarian melodies and translations of their texts.
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Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
This classic orchestral showpiece is one of the best-sellers in the Masterworks series of full scores.
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