Concerto for Orchestra (Bartók)
The Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123, is a five-movement orchestral work composed by Béla Bartók in 1943. It is one of his best-known, most popular, and most accessible works.
| Concerto for Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| by Béla Bartók | |
The composer in 1927 | |
| Catalogue | Sz. 116, BB 123 |
| Composed | 1943 rev. 1945 |
| Duration | About 38 minutes |
| Movements | Five |
| Scoring | Orchestra |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 1 December 1944 |
| Location | Symphony Hall, Boston |
| Conductor | Serge Koussevitzky |
| Performers | Boston Symphony Orchestra |
The score is inscribed "15 August – 8 October 1943". It was premiered on December 1, 1944, in Symphony Hall, Boston, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. It was a great success and has been regularly performed since.
It is perhaps the best-known of a number of pieces that have the apparently contradictory title Concerto for Orchestra. This is in contrast to the conventional concerto form, which features a solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment. Bartók said that he called the piece a concerto rather than a symphony because of the way each section of instruments is treated in a soloistic and virtuosic way.