Talk:Piano Concerto No. 2 (Bartók)

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The Louis Kentner 1933 performance[edit]

Grove V (1966 reprint - a bit old these days, but it's still usually pretty reliable) says that Louis Kentner gave the first performance of the concerto, in 1933, in Budapest, under Otto Klemperer. We're saying the composer played the piano part, which I assume is correct.

Was there anything special about the Kentner performance to make it worthy of mention, or did Grove just get it wrong? -- JackofOz (talk) 08:33, 14 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well, one should not generally assume that anything written in Wikipedia is correct, all the more when there are no sources, as is the case with this article.

That said, I did a little web searching, and I've found three sources, none of which may have taken the information from Wikipedia —that's always a possibility— and they confirm the Wikipedia article.

Rosbaud's Biography by Naxos says he conducted the premiere of the 2nd piano concerto with Bartok as soloist
same with the Rosbaud biography by Washington State University Libraries
Greene, David Mason (1985). Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers. The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation. pp. p.1091. ISBN 0385142781. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) says "which Bartok played under Hans Rosbaud at Frankfurt in January 1933".

Now, regarding what Grove says, they might have made a mistake or they might be writing the Hungarian premiere, rather than the world premiere. Under which article does Grove contain this piece of information?

I also think you've made a typographical error in the Louis Kentner article, having written 1935 instead of 1933.

--Atavi (talk) 16:11, 14 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed it was the Hungarian premiere, according to Kentner's Naxos biography....--Atavi (talk) 16:44, 14 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It was in Grove's article on Kentner. They did say "the first performance", but clearly they forget the word "Hungarian". I imagine the New Grove has better info, but Grove V is what's on my shelf. Thanks for the correction about the year (that was indeed my own typo), and the info on the Hungarian premiere. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:21, 15 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, you work with what you have. Cheers,--Atavi (talk) 10:30, 15 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Levitating audience member[edit]

Does anyone have any further information on this event? Date? Who was playing? Was this phenomenon in any way connected to the concerto, or was that purely incidental to the alleged levitation? -- JackofOz (talk) 03:01, 18 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Composition - 1st & 2nd concertos confused[edit]

The opening para of "Composition" discusses the première of the first concerto in a way that makes it difficult to know which concerto is under discussion. Better to remove the reference to the first concerto première (which is discussed in the article on that piece) and just describe Bartok's progression in style? --D Anthony Patriarche (talk) 07:17, 11 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I see what you mean. I have added a clarification, and will consider whether all or part of the reference to the First Concerto should be removed.—Jerome Kohl (talk) 16:46, 11 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]