Hungarian composer

Received musical training in Hungary (Germanic tradition strong)

Strongly influenced by Hungarian folk music in his early 20's

Continued to use folk elements in his own music for all of his life

Later folk usage integrated into his personal style

Claimed that all of his works were tonal (i.e. had audible tonal centres)
 

Back to the menu

Divertimento (1939)

Late work - Béla Bartók was 58 at the time

Middle movement contrasts with lighter tone of two outer movements.

Commission specified "easier to play than Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta"!

The measure numbers and timings were written by Bartók into the fair copy. The irregular numbering of the measures is a clue to the composer's concept of the form.
 

Back to the menu

BEFORE LISTENING

What will you listen for? How about:

• Thematic repetitions
• Cadences
• Harmonic style and structures
• Textural changes
• "Classical" elements (why is it part of that tradition?)
• "Modern" elements (how can you tell it from Beethoven or Liszt?)

FORM

Bartók wrote that movement was "roughly ABA".

There appear to be four major sections:

A (mm. 1-19)

B (mm.20-32)

C (mm. 33-55)

A' (mm. 56-74)

Note that each section is set off by a timing note at the end, as well as a measure number at the beginning. There is only one other timing mark (m. 50); keep this in mind.

Each section has a strongly defined tonality:

A - C#

B - G minor

C - G# minor

A' - C#

The sections

Focussing on the measure numbers.

A (mm. 1-19)

1-5 : initial statement of theme

6 - 11: canonic repeat

11-16 : descending sequence

17-19 : codetta

B (mm. 20-32)

20-24: initial statement of "folk" theme

25-29 : imitation at upper fifth, with further fifth imitation

30-32 : climactic outburst and transition

C (33-55)

33-36 : establishment of ostinato

37-40 : single note ascent of violin I

41-44 : double-stopped ascent to climax

44-49 : descent from climax

50-55 : presentation of interval cycles and transition to recapitulation

A' (56-74)

56-61 : modified recapitulation of first theme

62-65 : cresecendo and "Hungarian culmination"

66-69 : development of thirty-second note expanding figures

70-74 : final dissolution to cadence

Back to the menu

Further Considerations

1) Is the form A-B-C-A', or maybe A-B-B'-A', or even just A-B-A?

2) Why is the harmonic structure so simple in the two middle sections? Is there a reason that the two A sections are more complex?

3) Is the overall harmonic progression meaningful?

4) Is there a coda?

5) What about the section after m. 50? Why is there a timing mark there if it is not an independent section?

Back to the menu