Bartók's compositional model was Beethoven. Similarities between the two composers may be seen in form, contrapuntal writing, use of introductions and epilogues, and thematic and motivic material. The symmetrical structure of Bartók's Second Piano Concerto is compared to the form of Beethoven's String Quartet in C# Minor, Op. 131. The forms of the second movement of Bartók's Third Piano Concerto and the concerto as a whole are related to both the Second Piano Concerto and Op. 131. The second movement is also related to Beethoven's String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132, where striking similarities occur in scoring, rhythm, texture, and dynamics. Beethoven's Grosse Fuge for String Quartet, Op. 133, serves as a model for Bartók's Sixth String Quartet with parallels of meter, dynamics, articulation, use of rests, and compositional procedures. It is clear that Bartók deliberately used many of Beethoven's compositional techniqes.

Works: Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2 (254), Piano Concerto No. 3 (254-55), String Quartet No. 6 (255-59).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nikola D. Strader