The Tangled History of Bela Bartok's Final Work
The story behind Bela Bartok's famed viola concerto
IN JANUARY 1945, William Primrose commissioned a viola concerto from Béla Bartók—a simple act that set in motion one of the great musical mysteries of the 20th century and has resulted in a legal tangle that persists to this day. At that time, the composer was already gravely ill, yet he began the work without delay. In early September, Primrose received word that a rough draft of the work had been completed. Bartók had produced 14 pages of material, essentially the complete solo viola part and sketches of the orchestral accompaniment. In a letter to Primrose, the composer wrote, "only the score needs to be written, which means a purely mechanical work, so to speak." However, Bartók's health deteriorated shortly thereafter, and he died in a New York hospital on September 26, leaving the concerto unfinished.
In the 57 years since then, the story of Bartókís Viola Concerto has developed like a work of fiction. Today, at least four versions completed by others are in circulation, but due to copyright restrictions, only two are available in the United States, for now. One of the others, realized by Hungarian-born violist Csaba Erdélyi, has met with praise from numerous Bartók scholars. Erdélyi performed his version last year at the 29th International Viola Congress in Wellington, New Zealand with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He returned a few months later to record the work with NZSO. A CD and a printed edition will be available soon, from Concordance Records and Promethean Editions, respectively. These items may be sold legally in New Zealand and Australia, where copyright protection expires after 50 years, not 75, as it does in the U.S. (See the resource guide to Bartók for contact information.)
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