Category Archives: in English

Béla Bartók: String Quartet no. 2 (1915–1917)

Posted on 09/02/1981 by Ilkka Oramo

“I have even had time – and the ability – to compose a bit; it seems as if the muses are not silent even during a modern war,” wrote Bartók in 1915 to his friend János Busitia. The Second String … Continue reading →

Posted in in English, Program notes | Tagged | Comments Off on Béla Bartók: String Quartet no. 2 (1915–1917)

Béla Bartók: String Quartet no. 1 op. 2 (1908–9)

Posted on 08/31/1981 by Ilkka Oramo

Bartók’s First String quartet is closely related to the First Violin Concerto (op. posth.) written in 1907–8 and its sister work Two Portraits, op. 5. These compositions, as Bartók’s letters show, have a semi-programmatic nature: in them, the composer limns … Continue reading →

Posted in in English, Program notes | Comments Off on Béla Bartók: String Quartet no. 1 op. 2 (1908–9)

Béla Bartók: String Quartet no. 6 (1939)

Posted on 08/31/1981 by Ilkka Oramo

On August 18, 1939, after he had just completed his Divertimento for string orchestra, Bartók wrote to his son Béla from Saanen, Switzerland, where he was on a composing vacation. “Now I have another commission to fulfill, this time a … Continue reading →

Posted in in English, Program notes | Comments Off on Béla Bartók: String Quartet no. 6 (1939)