Performance and Reception of Bartók’s Violin Music during His First Concert Tour of the United States (1927–1928)

During his first concert tour of the United States (1927–1928) Bartók played primarily his own music in lecture-recitals, orchestra performances, and chamber music concerts in fifteen American cities. Over the course of the tour, he collaborated with violinists Jelly d’Arányi and Joseph Szigeti to present a few of his works for violin and piano to members of musical clubs in New York City and Philadelphia, and before dignitaries at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. – namely his Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 2 (1922), Hungarian Folk Tunes, for violin and piano (arranged by Joseph Szigeti, 1926), and Romanian Folk Dances for Violin and Piano (arranged by Zoltán Székely, 1925). In Boston and New York, Bartók played on recitals that also included performances of his String Quartets nos. 1 and 2. In this article I document the American reception of Bartók’s violin music during his U.S. recitals of early 1928. Music criticism in American newspapers and music journals, as well as detailed program notes from the string quartet performances, have been taken into account to reveal the assessment of Bartók’s violin music and string quartets and the characterization of the composer in the American press and concert halls. The reviews have also been considered in comparison to later recordings of the violin and piano works made by Bartók and Szigeti.

Lavista, Mario (1943–)

Composer, pianist, intellectual, editor, and teacher Mario Lavista is regarded as a central figure in Mexico’s contemporary music scene. A prolific composer of orchestral, stage, chamber, solo, and electronic pieces, Lavista’s oeuvre is characterized by its intersections with the other arts. His music shows an integration of modernist avant-garde trends from both European and American music, while also adopting compositional techniques from diverse historical periods of Western art traditions. He has maintained an active performance career, especially through collective improvisations using prepared piano. Lavista’s role as intellectual has been shaped mainly through the series of lecture-recitals he regularly organizes as a member of El Colegio Nacional—a prestigious government-funded institution intended to foster the cultural and intellectual activities of an intellectual elite. Moreover, he is the founder and director of one of the most renowned music journals in Mexico, Pauta: Cuadernos de Teoría y Crítica Musical, which promotes multidisciplinary dialogues, especially among writers, painters and musicians, and has a strong emphasis on contemporary music. Lavista has been teaching at the Conservatorio Nacional since 1970, where his role as educator and mentor has been particularly relevant for ‘‘practically all Mexican composers that are younger than he is’’ (Cortez 14).

SIXTEENTH BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BAROQUE MUSIC UNIVERSITÄT MOZARTEUM SALZBURG, 9–13 JULY 2014

The Sixteenth Biennial International Conference on Baroque Music (ICBM) was held at the beautiful Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Professor Thomas Hochradner and his effective team of assistants, approximately 250 participants could choose from papers and lecture-recitals that covered a wide spectrum of topics and methodologies. These included new research on notable composers, geographical influences upon musical genres and interdisciplinary approaches. The organizers also offered guided tours on one of the afternoons, which allowed participants to trace the music of the city, learn about the autographs vault of the Mozarteum, listen to the organs at the Metropolitan Church or explore the cathedral quarters (Domquartier).