Bela Bartok was born in Hungary in 1881. Throughout his childhood and late teenage years, he was very sickly1, almost having to drop out of the Budapest Academy of Music to regain his health. While at the Academy, Bartok grew interested in Hungarian folk music and developed a friendship with Zoltan Kodaly, also an advocate of Hungarian research. These two men journeyed the countryside together in search of folksongs and were extremely successful in finding them. Bartok's First String Quartet is a prime example of the use of folk elements in music. A range of 31 years exists between the first and last quartet, the last, or Sixth Quartet, having been written in 19392. .
Bartok's increasing maturity and experience as a composer are apparent chronologically through his six quartets, with the Sixth Quartet being the culmination of not only motives used in other quartets, but also this new motive or theme used by many previous great composers: mesto. Some could argue that mesto means, "sad" no doubt, but in this case, the meaning is more than a tempo marking; it is a performance marking. Every movement of the Sixth Quartet starts with this idea of Mesto, each transposed from the other with little to no changes in rhythm or intervallic structure. What is it that makes this idea of Mesto so intriguing? What is the basis of the underlying structure of the Mesto and the rest of the music from the Sixth String Quartet? Bartok's use of the (0,2) and (0,7) dyads play an integral role in finding out.
Every composer has a unique writing style. For example, some composers might only write for a specific instrument, and others might use a specific pattern of orchestration from piece to piece. Bartok's music is characterized by his specific use of intervals3. Within the Sixth String Quartet, the (0,2) dyad and the (0,7) dyad-the Major 2nd and Perfect 5th, respectively-are two prominent components that establish the structure of the quartet4.
Composers were more apt to use open fifths and sixths than other intervals, since those were found more aesthetically pleasing to the ear. ... Bela Bartok, a peer of Messiaen's, became an expert in the growing field of ethnomusicology. ... Through different stages of his career, Bartok dabbled in atonality, contrapuntal melodies, and rhythmic innovations, all of which are focused on math. ...
Bartok Concerto for orchestra , 3rd movement This movement has been described as the "apex" of the concerto, being completely central, and was composed in honour of Koussevitsky's wife. ... In bars 10-22 Bartok's "night theme" is heard, with colourful, chromatic phrases played back and forth (antiphony) between the flutes and clarinets, whilst the pedal notes are sustained in the double basses, violins, violas and cellos. ... The key in this section moves around C major and minor; this is heard in the string section. ... The 3 bar motif is repeated at different registers conveyi...
One of the most important advances of the orchestra during the Baroque period was the rise of the string family. ... But it wasn't just the string instruments which were changing. ... There were instruments such as the serpent, the baryton and one particular string instrument called the harp. ... The string quartet was also a new invention in the Classical period. Once the string family had been brought up to standard, it was a short step to the quartet. ...
(Rice, pg. 211) The Viennese who were music enthusiasts were more likely to be part of and to participate in string quartets. The string quartets normally consisted of music lovers and consisted of 2 violins, a viola, and a cello. ... This passion and enthusiasm was the basis and subsequently led to Haydn's String Quartet Op. 76, no. 3 ("Emperor") piece. The song itself sounds like it has fewer musicians and instruments playing and has fewer embellishments compared to a symphony since it is a string quartet piece. ... The string quartet piece was to be heard privately by people...
According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, "Beethoven expanded the dimensions of this form and intensified the element of personal expression far beyond the styles of Haydn and Mozart ( Joseph Haydn, who composed over once hundred and four symphonies, was one of the greatest contributors to the musical society. ... Haydn was an innovator in the development of the symphony and string quartet. ... His symphonies and some string quartets are sought as his greatest works. ...
Beauty has both puzzled and amazed mankind for the past two millennia. During this period, people have tried countless times to define beauty - to explain it with words. "Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror" - Kahlil Gaibran "Beauty is a perfume without a name" - Arthur D, Ficke "...
