Idea, Notation, Interpretation: Written and Oral Transmission in Bartók's Works for Strings

Bartók's Rhapsodies: A Violinist's Guide to Building an Authentic Interpretation

“…than our musicianship, our instinct, or the interpretation of any violinist of our time." 5 Of Bartók's numerous and noteworthy collaborators, Zoltán Székely stands as the most significant and relevant to this discussion. Others may have had bigger careers or wider fame (e.g.…”

“…László Somfai sites many examples of such interpretations, indicting even the highly regarded Julliard Quartet's 1950 recording of the Bartók set, "which the Hungarians, while praising its high technical and musical quality, rightly thought as being partly against the authentic style." 10 These interpretations are often full of excitement and worthy in their own right. Yet, just as romanticized interpretations of Baroque music have been subjected to scrutiny and repudiation since the early music movement, scholars have long viewed interpretations of Bartók's music through the critical lens of authenticity.…”