Béla Bartók and the Natural Interpretation of Music

Abstract

Bartók's fascination with Nature was religious in its devotion. This paper relates Bartók's love of Nature and folksong with musical interpretation. I explore Bartók's folk music arrangements for piano with extant recordings of the original peasant performance. Bartók referred to folk music as a natural phenomenon numerous times in his writings. By examining Bartók's views on Nature and folksong, it is possible to gain insight into natural musical interpretation.