Concerto for Orchestra

Béla Bartók, like Stravinsky, fled to the United States to escape the war and continue practising his art freely. In 1943, he composed a Concerto for Orchestra, revitalizing his reputation as an ethnomusicologist. In this piece, Bartók drew inspiration from the rich musical folklore of the Balkans.

The piece opens with a progressively accelerating cello theme that builds a sense of urgency. Meanwhile, the violins and flutes craft an ethereal soundscape, evoking a distinctly cinematic atmosphere. The trumpets come in with a secondary theme that adds a contrasting tonal colour while reinforcing the characteristics of the first theme. This includes a traditional modal style and recurring motifs, evoking the essence of a folk song. The return of the violins and timpani heightens the overall dramatic tension. With its abundance of musical ideas, each instrument—whether it’s the horn, trombone or oboe—gets a moment to shine. This is where the idea of a concerto for orchestra takes shape.

The second movement, “Presentando le coppie,” takes this idea further, featuring several groups of virtuoso soloists. Five pairs of wind instruments are featured in turn: two bassoons, two oboes, two clarinets, two flutes and two muted trumpets.

In the third movement, Bartók creates an elegy, with a tragic tone set by the lyrical violins and tolling trumpets. The prelude and postlude both echo the mysterious atmosphere of the work’s introduction.

The fourth movement adopts the tone of a scherzo, blending humour with sarcasm. The oboe introduces the first theme with an irregular rhythm, making it unpredictable and distinct. Drawing inspiration from the arabesque style favoured by Impressionist composers, Bartók intertwines this theme with a melody from “Da geh’ ich zu Maxim,” a song from the score of Franz Lehár’s operetta The Merry Widow. Beneath the orchestral texture, the clarinet plays a four-note motif famously used by Shostakovich, likely an ironic nod to the composer who also used this operetta’s aria in the first movement of his “Leningrad” Symphony.

In the finale, the music bursts with energy, driven by vigorous arpeggios played with alternating crescendos and decrescendos, creating the effect of sound waves. Fugue-like passages, where instruments take turns playing the same motif, are a testament to Bartók’s respect for certain classical musical conventions.