Nu på gång

Bartók's Violin Concerto

About

Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2 (Sz. 112, BB 117) was composed between August 1937 and December 1938 at the insistence of violinist Zoltán Székely, Bartók's long-standing recital partner. The work had its premiere on 23 March 1939 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, with Székely as soloist and Willem Mengelberg conducting. Written in three movements, it weaves twelve-tone themes into a firmly tonal language rooted in Hungarian folk idiom, and is widely regarded as one of the great violin concertos of the 20th century.

~40'
Duration (approx.)
500+
Recording legacy - notable releases cited by BBC Music Magazine

What's new

  • 2013

    Isabelle Faust and Daniel Harding recorded both Bartók violin concertos with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra for harmonia mundi, earning wide critical acclaim.

  • 2024-01

    BBC Music Magazine published an updated guide to the best recordings of Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2, highlighting its exceptionally rich discography.

Tracks

I. Allegro non troppoOpening movement; solo violin enters over harp and low strings with a rhapsodic folk-inflected theme built on fourths and fifths.
II. Andante tranquilloSlow movement structured as a set of six variations on a calm G-major theme; timpani used melodically alongside the solo violin.
III. Allegro moltoFinale that transforms and varies material from the first movement, closing with Bartók's signature snap-pizzicato in the strings.

Upcoming · 1

Where they play · 1

Göteborgs Konserthus

← Back to home