5.3 Revolution, evolution

In 1943 he summarised his style and artistic beliefs in a plan for a series of lectures at Harvard University.97 Bartók planned to discuss nine topics, as they summarise the very core of his synthesis: - revolution, evolution (5.3), modes, polymodality (5.4) - chromatism (5.5) - rhythm, percussion effects - form (every piece creates its own form) - scoring (new effects on instruments), the use of the piano and violin as percussion instruments - trend towards simplicity - educational works - general spirit (connected to folk music) (5.7).

5.3 REVOLUTION, EVOLUTION In 1923, Bartók stated that the music of all peoples of the world can be traced back to some common basis of primeval forms, types, and styles. But the source for a new musical language should above all be ‘clean, fresh, and healthy’.98 It explains his choice for innovation, chromatics, enriched harmony, and the use of modes. Bartók wanted a new world of sound, unencumbered by the sultry pressure of German late-Romanticism. After a period when he had been considerably influenced by Richard Strauss, Bartók had caught the vital bug of anti-Romanticism of the Paris composers. However, his firm belief that all music was rooted in archetypical models made him immune to the radical revolution of Schönberg and Webern.

Bartók said about this: “…. a deliberate (not too frequent) use of chords of older tonal phrasing within atonal music would not be in bad taste. An isolated triad of the diatonic scale, a third, a perfect fifth, or octave amidst atonal chords - certainly limited to quite special places which are suitable for the purpose - do not give an impression of tona-

97 In 1943, Bartók was appointed at Harvard University as a guest-scholar for the spring term of 1943. Illness prevented him from finishing his lectures; he gave only three. The University renewed the invitation in a letter, sadly three months before his death. 98 “… (my work) might be regarded as the embodiment of the very concept of integration so much emphasized in Hungary today … My own idea, however - of which I have been fully conscious since I found myself as a composer - is the brotherhood of peoples, brotherhood in spite of all wars and conflicts. I try - to the best of my ability - to serve this idea in my music; therefore, I don’t reject any influence, be it Slovakian, Romanian, Arabic, or from any other source. The source must only be clean, fresh, and healthy!” (Bela Bartók, Letters, 1971).