Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis - Volume 74, Issue 1, 2024

The Netherlands got to know the music of Béla Bartók just before the First World War. The first Dutch reactions are mixed: on the one hand, awareness of great quality (already in the 1920s he is counted by some critics among the most important composers of his time), on the other hand, uncertainty about the nature of his music: influenced by folk music, Schoenberg, Debussy and a predilection for unacademic forms. The question ‘what counts more: the presence of folk music or its processing’ also occupied minds. After 1935, these doubts disappear, especially with the introduction to many of his compositions from the years 1935-1940. During the war, his music is played and the Nazis make attempts to incorporate his work into their ideology. His growing status does not automatically mean unanimous rave reviews. Performances on sound carriers are rare and canonising writings on his work are still few and far between.