Stefi Geyer, the dedicatee of Bartók's First Violin Concerto, kept the score until her death in 1956 but never performed it publicly.
Compositional Technique
Bartók's First Violin Concerto features a 'leitmotiv' for Stefi Geyer, which is a broken major-seventh chord (c-sharp - e - g-sharp - b-sharp).
Compositional Technique
The Second Violin Concerto by Bartók employs a continuous variation technique, with the third movement being a free variation of material from the first movement.
Composition History
Béla Bartók's First Violin Concerto was inspired by his unrequited love for the Swiss violinist Stefi Geyer, to whom he dedicated the work.
Performer Biography
Arabella Steinbacher, the violinist on this recording, plays the 'Booth' Stradivarius (Cremona, 1716), loaned to her by the Nippon Music Foundation.
Composition History
Bartók's Second Violin Concerto was composed between 1937 and 1938 as a commission from the renowned violinist Zoltán Székely.
Notable Performances
Bartók's First Violin Concerto had its world premiere in Basel on May 30, 1958, thirteen years after the composer's death, with Hansheinz Schneeberger as soloist.
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