Bartok: Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2 / Piano Quintet

Featuring

György Pauk
Jenő Jandó
Attila Falvay
Tamás Szabó
Gábor Fias
János Devich

Kodály Quartet
Béla Bartók

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Composer Biography

Béla Bartók, the composer, was born in 1881 in an area that is now part of Romania and received his early piano lessons from his mother.

Performer Biography

György Pauk, the violinist on this recording, was born in Budapest in 1936 and is known for his championship of contemporary music and his performances of Bartók's works.

Compositional Technique

Both Rhapsodies are structured in two movements, lassú followed by friss, mirroring the traditional Hungarian dances known as verbunkos (recruiting-dance) and csárdás.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bartók developed a deep interest in the folk-music of Hungary and adjacent countries, collaborating with Zoltán Kodály and later extending his research to Anatolia with Turkish composer Adnan Saygun.

Performer Biography

The Kodály Quartet, named with the approval of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture, has performed throughout Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan, and made acclaimed recordings for Naxos.

Composer Biography

Bartók emigrated to the United States in 1940 due to dissatisfaction with the growing association between Hungary and Nazi Germany, and died in straitened circumstances in 1945.

Composition History

The Piano Quintet, completed in 1904, marks the end of Bartók's apprenticeship as a composer, showing influences from Liszt, Dohnányi, Brahms, and Richard Strauss.