Bela Bartok is an outstanding Hungarian composer of the XX century, whose name stands beside the names of such great reformers as I. Stravinsky, P. Hindemith, A. Schoenberg. The composer’s journey was a long and hard one; he experimented with language elements of music, delving into such styles as fauvism, impressionism, expressionism, neoclassicism, and, most of all, neofolklorism, with its inherent usage of archaic folklore layers as basis.
Violin music occupies a special place among diverse genres of Bartok’s creative works. The composer turned to violin music throughout all his life — from the cycle of miniatures “The Course of the Danube” which he composed as a child, to the solo violin sonata, composed right before his death. Almost all his violin music heritage is having a full-fledged performance life, especially in Europe and the USA. However, in Ukraine the situation is somewhat different, as only some of Bartok’s works reach conservatory classes, while the chances of hearing the Hungarian master’s opuses performed in a concert are even scarcer. A similar situation is witnessed in the academic sphere: while in Western musicology the composer’s works are the subject of meticulous studies, in Ukraine it is only addressed by a few isolated researchers. As for violin music, even powerful Hungarian and American bartokianas lack specialized studies, covering the whole violin heritage of the composer in the entirety of its genre and style parameters.
Therefore, the important factors of the research topic’s relevance include the gap between the degrees of performance representation and academic coverage of Bartok’s violin music in the West, which still remains significant, and underrepresentation of the composer’s music (especially, his violin works) in Ukraine, both in performing space and in academic research community.
Scientific novelty of the dissertation is defined by the fact that Bartok’s violin works are considered in their entirety and in the context of interaction of style and genre parameters. Some violin works, not yet addressed by Ukrainian musicology, have been given academic attention for the first time. They include a series of miniatures, five sonatas for violin and piano, as well as two rhapsodies. Besides that, a periodization of the composer’s works has suggested. Some points have been developed in the dissertation, including the hypothesis of autobiographic narrative as the basis of composer’s idea for the First violin concerto, as well as connection between music of Bartok and F. Liszt. The author suggests an innovative view upon the interconnection between Bartok’s performing activity as a pianist and his work as a composer of violin music, and upon the dramatic content of the Second violin concerto based on original verbal remarks.
Bela Bartok’s violin music has been researched in the dissertation with the leading trends of the art of the first half of the XX century taken into account, and in close connection with the composer’s artistic aspirations.
Bartokiana has been considered as a body of sources, which includes three different groups with specific content. The first group consists of the texts of Bartok himself: letters, autobiography, critical reviews, academic works, which provide an immediate picture of his personality, aesthetic views and artistic ideas. The second group includes the memories of people from Bartok’s closest communication circle. Through the prism of their memories, we can see the Hungarian musician through the eyes of his contemporaries. The third group consists of academic works of different format: from fundamental monographs to articles, dedicated to separate aspects of the composer’s work, or to specific pieces.
In the dissertation, the role of violin in Bartok’s life and work is presented from the two standpoints. The first perspective views Bartok as a pianist, who performs with violinists: data on the concerts’ intensity and locations, repertoire, and specific violinists, is presented. The second views Bartok as a composer, creating music for violin. While writing his violin opuses, the composer, usually, intended them to be performed by a specific musician, taking into consideration his personality and technical aptness, and involving him in the composition process.
Bartok’s violin music heritage is presented in the context of interconnection of genre and style parameters.
Focusing the attention on the style parameter has allowed the author to trace the evolution of the composer’s violin works. Based on available catalogues by A. Szőllősy, D. Dille, I. Waldbauer and L. Somfai, as well as opus numbers of Bartok himself, periodization of Bartok’s violin works has been substantiated. Correctness of this periodization is confirmed by long breaks between violin works, composed during different periods. They vividly illustrate aesthetical and stylistic changes, specific to the composer’s artistic evolution as a whole.
