In the work of Béla Bartók, in addition to his own instrument, the piano, a special place is given to the other most important solo instrument of the time, the violin. (...) Starting with his studies at the Music Academy in Budapest, he came into direct contact with many young violinists, while between the wars, at his concerts in Hungary and abroad in the 20s and 30s, he regularly played together with the then young Zoltán Székely and the already world-famous Joseph Szigeti. Bartók composed many violin works for his partners. For him as a composer, the choice of the genres of the concerto, the accompanied sonata, and the rhapsody had been natural since his childhood. Thus, regarding genre, both the series of Duos for two violins from 1931 and the Sonata for solo violin of 1944 are in fact unusual. Together with the Sonata for solo violin, the 44 duos represent Bartók's mature works for solo violin, in which he used the violin without a piano or orchestral accompaniment. All the more interesting, for it would be difficult to find two compositions less alike. The Sonata for solo violin is not only a piece unique in its genre, presenting extreme challenges of instrumental technique, written for a virtuoso performer, but also one of the deepest and most abstract works of the composer, whilst the 44 duos of 13 years earlier, consisting of a series of wonderful miniatures, arrangements of folk melodies, lead the violin pupil all the way from his first unsteady steps in music, to a brief concert piece still within the framework of a small form. However, as Bartók stated in an interview in 1937, his lighter compositions based on folk melodies and his more serious, abstract compositions are not essentially different, and here too the two works explain, comment on, and complement one another:.(László Vikárius)

Track Listing

• Sonata for solo violin, SZ. 117, BB 124 I.Tempo di ciacona
• Sonata for solo violin, SZ. 117, BB 124 II.Fuga
• Sonata for solo violin, SZ. 117, BB 124 III.Melodia
• Sonata for solo violin, SZ. 117, BB 124 IV.Presto
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 1. Teasing song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 2. Maypole dance
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 3. Menuetto
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 4. Midsummer night song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 5. Slovakian song (1)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 6. Hungarian song (1)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 7. Walachian song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 8. Slovakian song (2)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 9. Play song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 10. Ruthenian song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 11. Cradle song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 12. Hay song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 13. Wedding song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 14. Pillow dance
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 15. Soldiers song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 16. Burlesque
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 17. Hungarian march (1)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 18. Hungarian march (2)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 19. A fairy tale
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 20. A rhythm song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 21. New Year's greeting (1)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 22. Mosquito dance
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 23. Bride's farewell
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 24. Comic song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 25. Hungarian song (2)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 26. Teasing song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 27. Limping song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 28. Sorrow
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 29. New Year's greeting (2)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 30. New Year's greeting (3)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 31. New Year's greeting (4)
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 32. Dancing song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 33. Harvest song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 34. Counting song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 35. Ruthenian kolomejka
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 36. Bagpipes
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 37. Prelude and canon
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 38. Rumanian whirling dance
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 39. Serbian dance
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 40. Walachian dance
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 41. Scherzo
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 42. Arabian song
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 43. Pizzicato
• 44 duos for two violins, SZ. 98, BB 104 44. Transylvanian dance

Additional Details

Label: BMC Records

Genre: Classical

Run Time: 72 mins

Release Date: 03/23/06

UPC: 5998309301254