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Béla Bartók

Bartók composed the Piano Concerto No. 3 in the United States. It differs radically from his first two piano concertos in its lack of overt virtuosity, its lack of conspicuous modernism, and its greater adherence to traditional models and forms. Even the Hungarian melodic and rhythmic elements, while still present, are not as pronounced as in his earlier concertos. The Third is a warmer and more melodic work with a more popular appeal that does not in any way compromise its musical integrity. Bartók wrote the concerto for his wife, Ditta Pasztory. He completed all but the final 17 bars, which were left in his musical shorthand. His friend Tibor Serly finished the work and it was premiered on February 8, 1946, by György Sándor with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Third is in three movements: Allegretto, Andante religioso, and Allegro vivace. The Allegretto is in sonata form with two subjects: a rhythmic opening theme and a lyrical second melody. These are developed and recapitulated in a more or less conventional fashion and the movement is rounded off with an elegiac coda of quiet beauty. The Andante religioso is one of Bartók's most heartfelt and heartwarming pieces, a three-part movement with the outer sections being a chorale for piano and orchestra with almost Bachian counterpoint and a central section of gloriously expansive Bartókian night music with bird calls and insect noises. The Allegro vivace that follows attaca is a much more boisterous movement in the form of a rondo with two contrasting episodes and an extended coda. With its angular themes, its spiky rhythms, its contrapuntal developments, its aggressive orchestration with a large part for percussion, and its bravura piano writing, the Allegro vivace is by far the most Bartókian movement of the Third.

- James Leonard, All Music Guide