Béla Bartók - Marche funèbre from “Kossuth“ (audio + sheet music)

In 1903 Bartók devoted considerable study to the music of Liszt, a composer whose works he already admired. He also decided to write a large composition expressing Hungarian national character, in accordance with a then-developing trend in the arts in his homeland. The result was his symphonic poem “Kossuth,“ generally regarded as Bartók’s first significant large work. At the behest of his publisher, he extracted this funeral march, drawn on the last movement of “Kossuth.“ The composer himself was not entirely satisfied with the effort, assessing it as inferior to its orchestral parent. While that judgment may be fair, the piano version is not without considerable merit. It opens with an ominous introduction, then launches into the dark but dignified march, which clearly shows the influence of Liszt in its menacing chords and haunting tremolos. At one point, however, a variant of the melody comes uncomfortably close to the opening theme in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. In the end, this five-minute piano transcription, atmospheric and full of drama and color, is attractive, but it plays up the Lisztian elements a bit more than the stronger orchestral rendition. (AllMusic) Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry. Original audio: (Performance by: István Kassai) Original sheet music: èbre,(Bartók,_Béla)