Bartók: The Wooden Prince & Dance Suite

Featuring

Cristian Măcelaru
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Béla Bartók

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

Cristian Măcelaru, the conductor, serves as Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Musical Director of the Orchestre National de France, and is also Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival in his home country of Romania.

Compositional Technique

Bartók's Dance Suite incorporates diverse musical styles from outside Hungary, including Romanian and North African influences, rather than being a purely Hungarian celebration.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bartók's interpretation of The Wooden Prince differed from his librettist Béla Balázs's; Bartók saw the wooden puppet as an artificial, negative element, contrasting with his love for wild nature.

Composer Biography

Although the themes in Dance Suite are Bartók's own inventions, they are rooted in his extensive research of ethnic songs and dances from Hungary, Romania, and Algeria.

Composition History

Bartók initially conceived his ballet, The Wooden Prince, as a double-bill with his opera Bluebeard's Castle, prompted by the opera's neglect.

Historical Context

Bartók's Dance Suite was commissioned for the 1923 fiftieth anniversary of the union of Buda and Pest, alongside works by Ernő Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály.

Critical Reception

The Dance Suite initially failed to make an impression at its 1923 premiere due to under-rehearsal, but gained acclaim after a 1925 performance by Czech conductor Václav Talich.