BÉLA BARTÓK: SONATA FOR SOLO VIOLIN

Abstract

Béla Bartók’s personality was a defining force in the musical life of the 20th century. His musical legacy contains countless elements that, even today, 81 years after his death, continue to inspire performers around the world to return to his works with great enthusiasm. From folk roots to modern innovations, the works composed with an almost scientific precision have resulted in a final “product” that is both intellectual and powerfully expressive, both national and universal in character. In my article, I would like to offer readers a closer look at one of Bartók’s last completed works from his mature period, and I can only hope that in doing so I contribute to the continuation of Bartók’s musical legacy. This work is none other than the Sonata for Solo Violin, which the composer completed in March 1944 and dedicated to the renowned American violinist Yehudi Menuhin. In my work, I would like to discuss Bartók’s final years spent in America, his meeting with Yehudi Menuhin, their friendship, as well as the main topic of this article—the Sonata for Solo Violin, its genesis, and its structure.