# Bartók’s Monster



## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

_Stalking the dead composer through Transylvania_

By *Jay Kirk*

http://harpers.org/archive/2013/10/bartoks-monster/


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Muy bien. I am lucky I read what I read while inebriated. Seems strange and I will revisit it sober.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

So it seems that Bartok may have been a vampire?

WOAH I've never written any composer fan fic (?) like THAT. Reminds me of the Submediant website. I don't think I'd write anything that... surreal...


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

"Hungarians were indeed a breed of Satan"...I will enjoy telling that to my Hungarian friend, who I suspect will proudly agree.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

An entertaining article, with some interesting facts I didn't know about. The article is a little too Stephen King-esque though (in my opinion), because it puts so much emphasis on the creepy and dark aspects of Bartok's music, his life and the cultures he was writing about. I don't think focusing so much on that fully does the music or the cultures justice. It kind of comes across that anything he isn't really familiar with is creepy and dark. It is an entertaining and humorous read though, the guy seems like a good writer - I'll give him that.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

I do like the anecdote about Bartok correcting his son, who had described his music as 'atonal': "All music is tonal."


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## George O (Sep 29, 2014)




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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

gardibolt said:


> I do like the anecdote about Bartok correcting his son, who had described his music as 'atonal': "All music is tonal."


He said that none of _his_ music was atonal. I don't know many composers who have described their *own* music as atonal, aside from Hauer. It's a pretty meaningless term, and one loaded with negative connotations, at that.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

tdc said:


> An entertaining article, with some interesting facts I didn't know about. The article is a little too Stephen King-esque though (in my opinion), because it puts so much emphasis on the creepy and dark aspects of Bartok's music, his life and the cultures he was writing about. I don't think focusing so much on that fully does the music or the cultures justice. It kind of comes across that anything he isn't really familiar with is creepy and dark. It is an entertaining and humorous read though, the guy seems like a good writer - I'll give him that.


I'm not surprised it was puplished in Harper's. I had a subscription for a few years, and they would always find strange and offbeat material to include in their magazine.


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