Bela Bartk (1881-1845)

An Analysis of the first movement of the Concerto for Orchestra (1943)

by Andrew Kuster
Bartks Concerto for Orchestra has proven to be an extremely attractive work for music analysts. It is by a prominent mid-twentieth century composer, and in an accessible style with clear formal divisions, and observable areas based on pitch collectional units and cyclic progressions. Also, various themes in the work have a folkmusic character engaging for those analysts with ethnomusicological interests. Therefore, there exist many copious analyses from diverse points of view shedding light on the Concerto for Orchestra. Three analyses representing divergent but useful viewpoints (for this analytical overview) are those by Suchoff, Wilson, and Antokoletz. Suchoffs and Wilsons provide detailed formal and pitch collectional analysis. But whereas Suchoff extracts the kernel of important collectional information from each phrase, Wilson presents these important collections and relates them to larger formal units in the tradition of Schenkerian graphic analysis. Antokoletz spends virtually no time discussing the formal aspect of the Concerto for Orchestra, but instead considers the symmetrical and cyclic aspects of the works material. Bartk himself provides a page-long analysis, which is (in his usual manner of talking about his work) brief and sketchy. It offers the critical analyst few clues to the structure and compositional process of the Concerto for Orchestra. The analysis below will crystallize the main points of the analyses mentioned above, as well as those listed in the bibliography on the last page. The first movement of Bartks Concerto for Orchestra is in sonata form and includes an extensive introduction. The introduction (ms. 1-75) is in three sections (ms. 1-34, 3550, 51-75). The exposition (ms. 76-230) presents two main thematic areas (ms. 76-148, 149-230. The development (ms. 231-395) divides into three sections (ms. 231-271, 272312, 313-395). And the recapitulation (ms. 396-521) presents the two thematic sec-tions of the exposition in reverse order (ms. 396-487, 488-521). The first six measures of this stern introduction (Bartk, 431) are a pentatonic assemblage of perfect fourths (Wilson calls this collection 5-35 <02479>) played by the low strings beginning and ending on C#. The upper strings respond with a tremolo wedge beginning on C and extending to an Ab-E augmented fifth before converging back on C. The flutes lead from this unison C down to an F# and up to F which will be where the strings land in m. 16. The lower strings reenter with a passage similar to the opening in m. 12 landing on F# in m. 16 while the upper strings begin another wedge centering on F and extending to the augmented fifth Db-A before reconverging on F. In m. 21 the flutes again enter with a wedge-like flourish. At. m. 22 the lower strings begin again for the third time on C#, moving more quickly (almost like the recitative in Beethovens ninth) to a string tremolo in m. 29 and a flute line in m. 30 which forms the

melodic basis for the other two sections of the introduction. In ms. 35-50 the strings play a pattern of fourths based on the opening low string melody with a strong tonalcenter of E-minor (Antokoletz points out that this is a rhythmic diminution of the first motive in the first theme of the exposition, 528). Beginning in m.39 the trumpets forge the flute melody from m. 30 into an antecedent and consequent phrase in E-minor. At m. 51 the upper strings and woodwinds play an elaboration of the trumpet melody from m. 39. Wilson points out that the G in the outer voices does not hide that the harmony contains prominent C-minor and C7 chords which break down into more ambiguous harmonies by m. 58. At m. 58 a strong climax is reached with the tonal center (and lowest note) of Eb. This Eb continues through the building crescendo and accelerando beginning in m. 63 and proceeding to the last bar of the introduction m. 75. Wilson (172) observes an important background step progression in the introduction from the C# (m. 1) to D# (m. 29) and finally F when the exposition begins (m. 76). The exposition begins tonally centered on F (m. 76) with a jagged theme made of ascending fourths (as the opening of the introduction). The motive of measures 76-78 is inverted in ms. 79-81. Wilson (174) points out that the first few measures provide the local dominants C and Eb. The violins play a black-note pentatonic pattern in ms. 8590. In ms. 90-91 is a V-I cadence in F, which is followed by a downward scale progression in the bass and sweeping flourishes in the winds from the first measure of the exposition. There follows a measure of rest (m. 94) which Cooper points out is dictated by a golden section (Cooper, 91). At m. 95 the second subsection of the first theme group be-gins using the first theme motive and moving down by whole-step from C (m. 95) to Bb (m. 102) and Ab (m. 122). The bass then moves down chromatically to Eb in m. 131 before an interruption at m. 135 by the trombone in C# (which was the first tonal area of the introduction). The trombones theme will be taken up extensively in the development. A transition to the second theme group continues with the downward gradually slowing melody in the flute at m. 142. At m. 149 the strings play an open fifth C-G which chromatically links the C# of the end of the first theme area to the B center of the second theme (m. 155 ff). The tonal area of B is significant in light of Lendvais axis theory, B being the counterpole of F, which was the tonal area of the first theme. The melody of the second theme, in the oboe at m. 155, is extremely narrow in range compared to the first theme. The theme seems to progress in three-measure units. Here also, the pitch compass of the harp gradually expands, creating a forward momentum. At m. 175 a shortened repeat of the melody begins with the clarinets in octaves over a B tonal center. From ms. 192-209 the colors of punta darco muted upper strings are mixed with high flute and oboe creating a sequence descending a perfect fifth in three, three-measure long statements. At m. 204 parallel thirds in the flutes lead to a B-major cadence with an added sixth (in a fleeting, but interesting overlap with G# in the 2nd violins). At m. 210 the violins intone the opening of the second theme followed by a woodwind descent in parallel triads to the tonally central B at m. 223. At m. 224 the low strings descend octatonically to F at m. 231, the beginning of the development. The first of three sections in the development begins with an extension of the first theme motive and its inversion (as at the beginning of the exposition), each played in the violins and trumpets followed by flourishes in the woodwinds and strings. At m. 242 ascending flourishes in the strings which step up each successive entry by whole-tone are answered by descending ones in the woodwinds creating a giant whole-tone wedge

lead-ing to another golden section point at m. 248 (Cooper, 71). Here interlocking fourths (as at the opening of the introduction) are treated canonically, first in two parts at m. 248, then in three parts at m. 254 leading to two areas of stretto entries at m. 258 (entries one measure apart except for last entry two measures apart) and at m. 265 (entries two beats apart creating a hemiola effect). The second developmental section begins in the tranquil character of the second theme at m. 272, but uses melodies based on the fourths of the first theme. Throughout this section the bass line descends from Ab (m. 272) to E (m. 289) and C# in m. 301 where the melody is augmented in the bass clarinet. A solid Ab in the bass (m. 308) closes the section. The final section of the development begins with three flourishes (from the first measure of the exposition) proceeding into a fugal exposition with the trombone theme from m. 134 in the trombones and trumpets. The fugue theme seems to come regularly in three-measure groups, but this is offset by the tutti punctuations in ms. 323-324 and the entry of the first trumpet cut short by the strings playing the first theme motive at m. 340. At m. 342 the fugue theme is inverted, and a counter-exposition begins in the brass. At m. 363 the theme reverts to its original form and a six-part stretto ensues, each entry a measure apart and stressing Bb. At m. 376 the brass pattern becomes harmonically static, cen-tering on notes from the black-note pentatonic scale (Bb-EbAb-Db). This stasis is broken up by the tutti first theme motive at m. 376 which leads up, by way of a hemiola, to a unison Ab climax (significantly on Lendvais secondary branch of the axis of F-B, Ab-D) held for six measures at m. 390. The order of themes presented in the exposition is reversed in the recapitulation. Where the second theme had been arrived at in the exposition by half-step descent, at m. 396 the Ab climax of the development ascends to A for the second theme in the recap. The basses outlining solidly the A center by playing E-A three times (ms. 402, 407, 414). At m. 424 the second theme melody is repeated in lengthened phrases over a polyrhythmic background (3:4:5) on a G center. At m. 456 F#-major is landed on by way of a clear V7-I cadence. The glassy muted upper strings and winds again play the colorful link from m. 192 moving through C-major (at m. 462) to the retransition beginning in m. 467 made up of a continuous E and F# alternation. The retransition contains Beethovenesque interruptions of the first theme and the second theme, but finally the first themes ascending flourish wins out and leads to the recapitulation of the first theme at m. 488 on an F center. After the initial motive of the first theme and its inversion (ms. 488-493) there follows a sequence based on the 4-cycle pattern: F (highest note in strings m. 494), C# (m. 497), A (m. 500). Another sequence ensues at m. 500 (A), m. 503 (F#), and m. 506 (D). At m. 509 a Bb subdominant pedal is held under growing textural density. At m. 514 a C in the bass acts as dominant resolving to tonic F in two measures as the brass play the trombone fugue theme fortissimo. The work ends with a swooping down (from the inver-sion of the first theme motive) to a unison F except for the trumpets who close on an F-minor chord.