BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945) - photo 1
BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945) - photo 2
BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945) - photo 3

BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945)

Lot 102
14.12.2022 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 1 800
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 870884
Lot 102 | BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945)
Estimate value
£ 1 800 – 2 500
BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945)

Autograph letter signed ('Béla') to Ernö Balogh, n.p. [Saranac Lake], 4 October 1944.

In Hungarian. Two pages, 240 x 159mm.



On preparing for some recordings, and his declining health in the year before his death. Bartók is about to travel back to New York City from his summer residence at Saranac Lake the following day, but it seems impossible to find a room: he will have to stay with Ditta (his wife) at her small apartment on West 57th Street: 'Of course we will be crowded in those two rooms: I with my stuff, and she with her piano. At least the piano is there, which I will need to practice on'. He has been practising at Saranac, in preparation for some planned recordings of the Suite Op.14, two Burlesques, the Romanian Dance I 'and something from the 15 Peasant Songs' as these are the pieces 'neither Continental nor Columbia have recorded from me. Perhaps others. I don't know for example if they have Allegro Barcarole and Bear Dance'. As for his health, 'I don't know if I can call it "health". At least the doctor from here told me that the lung failure, called TBC [tuberculosis], diagnosed last year, had disappeared. Otherwise, this is more half-healthiness than health ... About work – I worked but perhaps it's not what they expected from me. I can't work in two directions, just like a two eyed person can't wink in both directions ... I was busy with those "Romanian lyrics" and I have written my study on them ... too bad that there is hardly anybody interested or appreciative of them. So far I don't care...'.



The Bartóks had reluctantly emigrated from Hungary in 1940: Bartók's health began to decline the same year, and he was diagnosed with leukemia in April 1944, although he appears not to have been told of the diagnosis. In spite of his despondent mood in the present letter, his last year saw a burst of creativity, including the Sonata for Solo Violin, the Piano Concerto No.3 and the Viola Concerto. The pianist and composer Erno Balogh (1897-1989) had been a pupil of Bartók's at the Budapest Conservatory, before emigrating to the United States in 1924.











Special notice


This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Place of origin:Eastern Europe, Hungary, Europe
Auction house category:Letters, documents and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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10.12.2022 – 13.12.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
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