Viola Concerto (Bartók)

Béla Bartók's Viola Concerto, Sz. 120, BB 128 was written in July – August 1945, in Saranac Lake, New York, while he was suffering from the terminal stages of leukemia. It was commissioned by William Primrose. Along with the Piano Concerto No. 3, it is his last work, and he left it incomplete at his death. The concerto was premiered in 1950 by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra with Antal Doráti conducting and William Primrose playing the solo part.

The concerto has been completed three times: once by Bartók's friend and pupil, Tibor Serly (1949); once by Peter Bartók (son of the composer), Paul Neubauer, and Nelson Dellamaggiore (1995); and once by Csaba Erdelyi (copyright laws limit the availability of the Erdelyi version to retail stores in New Zealand and over the Internet).^{[citation needed]} The score suggests three movements with interconnecting passages, somewhat in the character of a ritornello, and this is how the completed versions run; however, Bartók mentioned in an unsent letter to Primrose that he intended the work to have four movements in all. The scherzo movement, which would have been the 2nd, was cut out by the composer, but some passages in the manuscript could be part of this scherzo.^{[citation needed]}

Bartók did not complete either the instrumentation or even the final texture so large passages are relatively devoid of detail. Stylistically, the work is similar to the Third Piano Concerto which was written at the same time. Compared to his earlier works they are harmonically restrained, somewhat conservative in most respects and with an elegiac quality which had always been a strong component of his music but which intensified in his late years.^{[citation needed]}

Analysis (Serly edition)

First movement

The first movement is marked Moderato and is in sonata form as follows.

Exposition (mm. 1-81)

The first tonal area and primary theme are in mm. 1-40. The A diminished tonality implied by the beginning introduction is the first hint at a B♭ tonal center. The primary theme is a 4-bar antecedent to an 8-bar phrase that is never presented fully.

The second tonal area and "middle theme" are in mm. 41-60. This starts off with one of the few cadences in the whole piece. C minor is the first key. This section has a denser texture, faster successive attack activity, and mostly scalar melodic motion (in contrast to the leaping melodic motion of the primary theme). This figure traverses through many tonal areas through the use of sequencing, ending with an extended B pedal (approx. mm. 52-61).

The third tonal area and secondary theme are in mm. 61-80. This starts on an E in the viola part, and with an E held in the bass, and ends with a D♯ trill in the solo viola part inn measure 80.

For a more in depth look at the first movement refer to "Finding Emotion in Batok's Viola Concerto" written by Jennifer Reed Mueller and published in the Journal of the American Viola Society, Fall 2009 Volume 25, Number 2.

Development (mm. 81-147)

The Development begins with the primary theme from bar 1. This time, however, the 2nd Horn plays the first note. This variation technique is typical of Bartok's works. He aspired to always avoid any literal repetition of thematic material, and altered subsequent repetitions by using techniques such as ornamentation, elaboration, varied instrumentation, and new harmonization. The primary theme is developed. In measure 87, the opening interval is a tritone, instead of a minor 6th. In measure 95, the viola part is inverted, with an implied starting pitch of B dim., which foreshadows the eventual C resolution in the coda. Measure 102 is in B major. Measure 116 is an intervalic and harmonic inversion of measure 112.

A cadenza begins in measure 127.

Recapitulation (mm. 147-207)

The first tonal area and primary theme are in mm.147-162. This time the primary theme is played by the flute while the viola noodles around. The chord is an F7 chord, giving further weight to the B♭ tonality of the primary theme.

The second tonal area and "middle theme" are in mm. 162-185. A cadence starts this "middle theme." E minor is the first key. The mediant alteration from the C minor of the Exposition is interesting, because since this theme is between the primary and secondary areas, it is only harmonically shifted halfway in the Recapitulation. This time the harmonic sequencing is by thirds instead of by fifths, as in the Exposition. (c, g, d, a in Exposition and e, g♯, c, a in Recapitulation).

The third tonal area and secondary theme are in mm. 185-207. This starts on an A in the viola part this time, which is the type of transposition one typically expects of the secondary theme in the Recapitulation of a sonata form piece.

Coda (mm. 207-230)

The Coda starts with the Consequent portion of the 8-bar theme from the opening of the piece. The opening viola line is pentatonic, in that there are no 'A's or 'D's. This is strongly in C with elements of both minor and major. The second half of the 4 bar phrase also has mode alterations. This movement ends on a C major triad.

Second movement

In the Serly edition, the second movement begins with an introduction. This lento parlando introduction has been left out by the other editions, as it might have belonged to the incomplete or abandoned scherzo movement.

The movement is marked Adagio religioso.

Third movement

The third movement also begins with an introduction. The fifth-based chord played at the beginning is repeated in the middle of the movement, when a folk melody is introduced.

The movement is marked Allegro vivace.

Bibliography

• Malcolm Gillies: "Bela Bartók", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed June 25, 2005), (subscription access)

• Maurice, Donald. Bartók's Viola Concerto: The Remarkable Story of His Swansong. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-515690-0