Bartók: Orchestral Works

Featuring

Susanna Mälkki
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Béla Bartók

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Performer Biography

Susanna Mälkki, the conductor, was the first woman to conduct a production at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, in 2011.

Performer Biography

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1882, has performed almost all of Jean Sibelius's symphonic works under the composer's own baton between 1892 and 1923.

Composition History

Bartók composed the Concerto for Orchestra, a 40-minute work for full orchestra, in a remarkable 54 days despite his deteriorating health while living in America.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In the Concerto for Orchestra, Bartók parodies Shostakovich's 'Leningrad' Symphony march theme by highlighting its incongruous similarities to a tune from Lehár's The Merry Widow.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Despite calling the central Elegy of the Concerto for Orchestra a 'lugubrious death-song', Bartók described the finale as 'life-affirming,' radiating his conviction that his music would endure.

Composer Biography

Béla Bartók's final decade (1935-1945) was marked by a rich output of instrumental masterworks, despite being disrupted by his move from Hungary to New York, where he died at 64.

Compositional Technique

Bartók's compositional style evolved into a sophisticated blend of 'cultivated' and 'vernacular' idioms, often referencing folk music's pitch modes and rhythmic patterns.