Bartók Interview from the Ask the Composer series

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2008
  • Bartók is interviewed by David LeVita
    Composer: Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
    Radio Show: Ask the Composer series
    Recorded: July 2, 1944
    This was recorded on July 2, 1944 during a radio broadcast of a live performance by his wife Edith Pásztory-Bartók at the Brooklyn Museum, as part of station WNYC's "Ask the Composer" series.
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ความคิดเห็น • 87

  • @TheUsuarioyo
    @TheUsuarioyo 14 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    I can´t believe it,,,,,, I listened the Bartok´s voice

  • @soldyx
    @soldyx 14 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    He makes me sooo proud of being hungarian!!!! (Kodály as well)

  • @mymanjosquin
    @mymanjosquin 7 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    First time to hear him speak. His English is very clear and easy to understand. What a brilliant gentleman.

  • @balbulus840
    @balbulus840 14 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I also think that it is a priceless recording - and his English is absolutely not bad, yet, he had a strong Hungarian accent. His words and thoughts are well understandable. He is one of the greatest Hungarians.

  • @violetmiller3723
    @violetmiller3723 7 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Béla Bartók talked on 10 foreign languages, including the English language, of course.

  • @olmaleo
    @olmaleo 14 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I cannot express my gratitude for this: the voice of Bartok is great as him.

  • @unmusica
    @unmusica 15 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Awesome post. Thank you. Previously I had heard only a small bit of this on the video "After the Storm."
    The greatness of this man is almost incomprehensible- having loved and studied his music for over 35 years, it only becomes more meaningful and beautiful over time.
    One feels fortunate to know his music in such an age as this, when that calibre of musicianship and humanity is actually despised by the vast majority.
    How encouraging to see his work gain popularity despite all that!

  • @yehbuddy4251
    @yehbuddy4251 8 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    Despite him being one of my favorite composers, This almost breaks my heart to listen to because he was so sick before he died, and this was 1944 (he died in 1945). If you've ever read Cooper's biography on him it talks about it. I was in tears T.T great interview tho;)

  • @ArtisWodehouse
    @ArtisWodehouse 6 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    There's so much else one could comment about, his command of English is so impressive! Thanks for this wonderful posting!

  • @strad1736
    @strad1736 11 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Fourth string quartet - played it tonight in NYC. A towering achievement.

  • @tomestubbs
    @tomestubbs 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Bartok's music has been a part of my life since high school. I'm hearing him speak for the first time asides a recording where he announces the names of a number of piano pieces including Mikrokosmos. He is one of my favorite composers.

  • @coolmuso6108
    @coolmuso6108 8 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    This is one of the most amazing videos ever. To hear one of my most favourite composers talk is truly exciting!!

  • @jazzer4
    @jazzer4 15 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Thank you SO much for posting this - can't believe I'm hearing Bartok's voice............Amazing!

  • @NorceCodine
    @NorceCodine 15 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I just love when he says (around 1.23) - "similar to the...bear's voice" - its just so sweet, maybe a little sad, and funny! at the same time.

  • @juanborjas6416
    @juanborjas6416 10 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    It is such a pleasure to hear about the master himself talking about his compositions.

  • @NorceCodine
    @NorceCodine 15 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I never knew that Bartok could speak English so well - including pronunciation - I wonder if this is also (somehow) a sign of a person's musical talent in general; language itself is composition and intonation, afterall.

  • @bobjohnson9847
    @bobjohnson9847 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Don , thanks for posting. Indeed one of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century if not the most brillant. the very last concert i saw with SF Symphony last March (2017) with MTT conducting included Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. I know the score from past studies and have always loved this piece commissioned not long before he died. Instant standing ovation and magnificant peformace. My third time of hearing this work live. A great showpiece for the orchestra and MTT really milked the strings playing all like Primashes passionality playing the rich Magyar themes.

  • @carloseduardomarques8827
    @carloseduardomarques8827 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    He had a very pleasant voice.

  • @potassiumchlorate
    @potassiumchlorate 14 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this! Bartok was a genius.

  • @butterflyed
    @butterflyed 11 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Oh god....This!!!! Bartok is my homeboy, fellow Hungarian...to hear him...just simply amazing...Thanks sososo very much for uploading!!

  • @z5ajdt
    @z5ajdt 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I hear Bartok's voice for the first time! Wow!

  • @vintekla
    @vintekla 15 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    one can imagine better the personality of the great artist, if one listens to his voice. yes, his voice fits in the picture I formed of him in my mind by playing his music and reading his biography, although his style of speaking is different how I imagined it. however it was a great and exciting experience to hear these legends come closer to us, to our time by hearing them speak

  • @mjsjazz
    @mjsjazz 13 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Incredible to hear the master' voice!!!

  • @Verschlungen
    @Verschlungen 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for uploading. What an unexpected treasure!!

  • @hotplate85
    @hotplate85 13 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Wow! It really is like hearing the voice of a musical god before me! Nice recording quality and impressive English (to me at least), considering he wasn't the most cosmopolitan of composers. What a great teacher he would have been, though, I suppose Mikrocosmos covers the diadactic angle.

  • @sahaiel
    @sahaiel 13 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    amasing, thank you for the post! finally something of value!

  • @RobertDaniel1926
    @RobertDaniel1926 15 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    thank you very much for uploading this gem.

  • @miciofilippo
    @miciofilippo 14 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wonderful document !!! Thanks!!!

  • @neonwind
    @neonwind 11 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for uploading this!

  • @lovepeace20
    @lovepeace20 11 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thank so so much for uploading this, you are so generous ! :) I love Bartok .

  • @TheoChronIsPainting
    @TheoChronIsPainting 14 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    so moving............ I didn't know this even existed.... a million thanks!!!!

  • @TheDecadant
    @TheDecadant 14 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I agree with everyone else, Thank you so much for posting this. Great to hear the voice of the genius.

  • @shermanngjazz
    @shermanngjazz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    TH-cam better not take this down!!!

  • @user-gi1ve1rg6g
    @user-gi1ve1rg6g ปีที่แล้ว

    It is a great pleasure to hear in his own words what has been described in papers by Bartok and his colleagues.

  • @schnabelite
    @schnabelite 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My God!! His voice 💮

  • @isaiahcruz3431
    @isaiahcruz3431 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This guy is awesome :)

  • @rosebartok2428
    @rosebartok2428 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great to hear his voice

  • @pianopera
    @pianopera 16 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Very interesting, thanks for posting!
    The "Transylvanian Evening" that he mentioned is no. 5 of the "Ten Easy Pieces" that you recently uploaded.
    I have a recording of Bartok playing a Brahms piece together with his wife (I think on two piano's), but the sound quality is so poor that it's not worth it to put on YT.

  • @warhols25
    @warhols25 13 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Bartok speaking in English and Penderecki in German, I would never have guessed that there is a place out there somewhere to hear that ! /:)

  • @christopherthorkon3997
    @christopherthorkon3997 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Amazing.

  • @bbbartolo
    @bbbartolo 13 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I like the way he responds to the expression, "abstract music." correcting it to "absolute music," non-programmatic music." As if most music isn't "abstract."

    • @Soytu19
      @Soytu19 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think he is referring to the process of music composition. I'm not sure but i think "absolute music without program" reffers to the way many composers organize their work. It can be understood in the case of Mozart, for instance. Many works by Mozart are not "absolute" music because Mozart was chained to the commissions of aristocracy and therefore he was under pressure and it affected to his music. But that's just an example.
      Absolute music would be the music that comes from a very wild and unconcious state of mind, for example The Rite of Spring is a good example of absolute music. The suite opus 14 they are talking about is also an example, as Bartok tells that it was composed in an style of "bones and muscles" (that is, improvising directly on the piano and letting go for the music)

    • @domingopartida5812
      @domingopartida5812 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      JulianJules Mozart was classical symmetry as the Greek art revival and less ornamented traditions of rich Italian chamber music tradition. absolute descriptor came afterwards

    • @liamsandal6360
      @liamsandal6360 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Incorrect. Absolute music is simply music that is non-representational.@@Soytu19

  • @keybawd
    @keybawd 16 ปีที่แล้ว

    Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for posting. I believe there are fragments of Bartok playing his own second concerto out there somewhere. Does anyone have these?
    Bartok's cough sounds very much like the beginning of his cancer. How sad.

  • @willieramirez8290
    @willieramirez8290 11 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Unfortunately,you also hear his Illness,very sadNice to hear him Speak.

  • @yehbuddy4251
    @yehbuddy4251 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The way he says no

  •  15 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Barók and Lugosi are the two greatest Béla ever. :D

  • @dizisgay88
    @dizisgay88 14 ปีที่แล้ว

    Cool!

  • @RobertoeLilia
    @RobertoeLilia 13 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    meraviglioso ascoltare il commento di Bela Bartok. Fondamentale per la compensione della sua musica.
    Is it possible to buy a book with the text?
    Many thanks for your reply.
    Roberto

  • @Twentythousandlps
    @Twentythousandlps ปีที่แล้ว

    It was common to script interviews in those days, and I think that is what we are hearing here. Sad to hear the coughs of a man with one year left.

  • @lexmagic1
    @lexmagic1 15 ปีที่แล้ว

    cheers, i have an exam on this soon.

  • @robertcooper1952
    @robertcooper1952 3 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Keith Emerson, the most excellent rock keyboard of all time, was profoundly influenced by Bela Bartok.

  • @NorceCodine
    @NorceCodine 15 ปีที่แล้ว

    The "Microcosmos" that he talks about towards the end, is the standard learning-repertoire for young children that they must master (hundred-fiftyfive pieces) in Hungary's training of elite pianists - imagine.

  • @Mangaliga
    @Mangaliga 14 ปีที่แล้ว

    @tonytrilex
    That's not an accident. Béla Lugosi was from Hungary as well.

  • @bbbartolo
    @bbbartolo 13 ปีที่แล้ว

    @keeelane not at all. I was using one definition of "abstract;" you were using another. both are in the dictionary.

  • @Soytu19
    @Soytu19 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I like how he pronounces "two" hahah. What a genius.

  • @mahler151
    @mahler151 14 ปีที่แล้ว

    Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly was the "Ask a Composer" series?

  • @bbbartolo
    @bbbartolo 13 ปีที่แล้ว

    @keeelane To take myself as an example, in common parlance I'm called an abstract painter. This doesn't mean I don't exist, keeelane, it means my work is non-figurative, consisting of formal elements, shapes, colors, brush strokes, etc. etc. "Abstract" doesn't mean non-sensory, nor should it in music.

  • @hellokpop9494
    @hellokpop9494 7 ปีที่แล้ว

    Can you tutor me who is bela bartok okay thanks 🤔

  • @strad1736
    @strad1736 11 ปีที่แล้ว

    the piece, that is........

  • @JosephGlaser
    @JosephGlaser 13 ปีที่แล้ว

    wow, you can really tell how sick he is in this recording.

  • @Soytu19
    @Soytu19 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Why is it that the interviewer calls him Doctor Bartok?

    • @xbqchm
      @xbqchm 7 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      He was a honorary doctor of the University of Columbia.

  • @keeelane
    @keeelane 13 ปีที่แล้ว

    @bbbartolo well, music "isn't" abstract, since you are able to hear it. you making something abstract is a projection of your own mind.

  • @keeelane
    @keeelane 13 ปีที่แล้ว

    @bbbartolo you missed my point

  • @jen3800
    @jen3800 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    how could he die in poverty? inconceivable.

  • @wayneredhart
    @wayneredhart 14 ปีที่แล้ว

    @Czeppelin after Bella Emberg.

  • @p2p4all
    @p2p4all 15 ปีที่แล้ว

    His accent like Albert Einstein's. :)

  • @strad1736
    @strad1736 11 ปีที่แล้ว

    Four

  • @violetmiller3723
    @violetmiller3723 7 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ditta Pásztory - that was the correct name of his wife, not Edith.

    • @valentynahornetski1640
      @valentynahornetski1640 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Not true. She was Edith, but everyone called her Ditta, its like her short name)))

  • @tonytrilex
    @tonytrilex 14 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    He sounds like Dracula

  • @konzolmester
    @konzolmester 15 ปีที่แล้ว

    Too bad I cant hear him speak hungarian,he would have spoken more clearly that way too,due to his bad english.

    • @miklosgotzy5095
      @miklosgotzy5095 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Is that all you can sum up about Béla Bartók listening to the tape? Hm? @konzolmester

  • @mihgaidumitrescu994
    @mihgaidumitrescu994 8 ปีที่แล้ว

    are accent romanesc....asa vorbeste un roman engleza....inconfundabil

    • @xbqchm
      @xbqchm 7 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      No, this is Hungarian accent, Bartók was Hungarian.

    • @fruzsinaborbely7442
      @fruzsinaborbely7442 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@xbqchm it's true!🇭🇺 but he also spoke Romanian and a bunch of other languages

  • @Soytu19
    @Soytu19 8 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I wish there were more "realistic" musicians such as Bartok and less romantic fastasy composers such as Liszt or any other romantic composers. I like much more the "simple" style, it is music that talks very sincerely and that's good for me.

    • @MrBluesboy15
      @MrBluesboy15 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      What do you mean by "realistic musician"?

    • @Soytu19
      @Soytu19 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Bruno Soares It's already what Bartok himself says when he talks about the simpler and more transparent style. I just called it "realistic" style, as, once one gets get used to it, it's really music that talks very sincere and clearly. Check out his 14 bagatelles for solo piano if you want to learn more about it.

    • @MrBluesboy15
      @MrBluesboy15 7 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yeah, but Liszt is a romantic composer.. and being a fantasy and romantic composer in the romantic period it's completely realistic...You pick a bad example..Bartok refers to the later romantic period. Bartok is a modernist composer and when he says "a more realistic and transparent style" he is talking about his time. Look at the first of this bagatelles for example, it's a completely realistic piece for the modernist period, but I doubt that a piece using two different keys would sound realistic in the romantic period..It is stupid compare this two composers in the way you did.

    • @Soytu19
      @Soytu19 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      ***** It is not stupid at all, and all you demonstrate is that you don't understand what i meant.

    • @domingopartida5812
      @domingopartida5812 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      Maybe you meant like how he keeps the integrity of folk music, pentatonic sounding and phrases without sounding gimicky like Chopin's folk music arrangements. Nothing wrong with Chopin but that's what makes Bartok more modern sounding other than being modern.

  • @yin8079
    @yin8079 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Absolute music without program