The Bart243;k Controversy Holy Cross（圣十字Bart243;k争议）.pdf

The Bartók Controversy Gareth E. Roberts Department of Mathematics and Computer Science College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA Math, Music and Identity Montserrat Seminar Spring 2015 February 20 and 23, 2015 G. Roberts (Holy Cross) The Bartók Controversy Math, Music and Identity 1 / 32 Béla Bartók Born in Nagyszentmiklós Hungary (now Sînnicolau Mare, Romania) in 1881. Died in New York, Sept. 1945. Could play 40 songs on the piano by age 4. Wrote first piece of music at age 6. Quickly became a chapel organist and an accomplished pianist and composer. Studied at the Catholic Gymnasium (high school) in Pozsony where he excelled in math and physics in addition to music. Entered the Academy of Music (Liszt is 1st president) in Budapest in 1899. Avid collector of folk music (particularly Hungarian, Romanian, Slovakian, and Turkish). Influenced by Debussy and Ravel; preferred Bach to Beethoven. Considered to be one of Hungary’s greatest composers (along with Franz Liszt). G. Roberts (Holy Cross) The Bartók Controversy Math, Music and Identity 2 / 32 Béla Bartók (cont.) Figure : Bartók at age 22. Very interested in nature. Built impressive collection of plants, insects, and minerals. Fond of sunflowers and fir-cones. “We follow nature in composition ... folk music is a phenomenon of nature. Its formations developed as spontaneously as other living natural organisms: the flowers, animals, etc.” — Bartók, At the Sources of Folk Music (1925) Notoriously silent about his own compositions. “Let my music speak for itself, I lay no claim to any explanation of my works!” G. Roberts (Holy Cross) The Bartók