Relating to Bartok

 

When I met Tomoko in 1983, the first question she asked me was: “Who is your favorite composer?” I answered “Béla Bartók.” Tomoko was impressed because he is usually not mentioned among the Big Bs (Bach, Beethoven and Brahms). Bartók has a way to connecting people, and there are many pieces of evidence that link Tomoko and her family to him.

One of the first connections between Bartók and Tomoko was Bartók’s country of birth: Hungary. Tomoko’s husband Desi was a Hungarian refugee. Like Desi, Bartók had to leave his country; when his father died, Bartók (age seven) and his sister were taken by mother first to the Ukraine and then to Slovakia. Indeed, when World War II started, Bartók immigrated to America; Desi immigrated because of the Hungarian Revolution. Tomoko also immigrated to the US as an adult.

Like Tomoko, Bartók started piano lessons as a young boy. Unlike Tomoko, Bartók wrote his first piano composition at age nine, and performed at his first public piano recital at age 11.

Also like Tomoko, Bartók was influenced by the music of Richard Strauss, Debussy, and Brahms.

Both Tomoko and Bartók appreciate folk music. Interestingly, Bartók started his interest in folk music when he heard an nanny singing folk songs to the little children she took care of. Tomoko routinely sang Japanese nursery songs to her daughter Beata when she was a baby, and how both of them sing those same traditional songs to Beata’s son Kai.

Both Tomoko and Bartók are nature lovers. Nature inspired Bartók in his Night music, which evoked sounds of nature. Another example is his Out of Doors sonata.

Moreover, both Bartók and Tomoko recorded their performances, and both were music teachers. Among Tomoko’s CD recording are pieces by Bartók, making a full circle in their relationship.

 

Japan, the Olympics and the Paralympics: Family Affairs

 

The world is watching the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, thanks to the media. Especially with the pandemic, few people get to set foot at the actual venue, but billions can watch – even on a cell phone!

For Tomoko and her family, this event has special meaning. The Olympic Games are being played in their native country, and she attended the university in Tokyo. For Tomoko’s whole family, the Olympic Games have special meaning because Tomoko’s daughter Beata and her husband Charles competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics as ice dancers. Of course, Tomoko and her husband Desi watched Beata and Charles ringside. The family was particularly lucky because the 2002 Olympics were held in Salt Lake City: as close to their homes as possible.

But the connections don’t stop there.

In 1948 the Paralympic Games was launched, mainly to benefit injured war veterans. By 1960 23 countries were represented in the Paralympic Games. Since 1992 both the winter and summer Paralympic Games take place a fortnight after the Olympic Games, in the same arenas and other competition venues.

Since the 2002 Olympics, Handra and Charles have had the opportunity to skate in the Opening Ceremonies for the Paralympic Games. “We felt very lucky to have been able to return to Salt Lake City again and see the Paralympians experience the same exhilaration we did in our Opening Ceremonies,” said Charles.

Beata and Charles returned from the Olympian and Paralympian trip to Washington D.C. feeling refreshed. “For three fun days we hung out with fellow U.S. Olympians and made new Paralympian friends, said Beata. “We all attended two black tie dinners, a lunch hosted by the Speaker of the House, and visited the White House where the President gave a speech to the athletes on the South Lawn.”

Tomoko’s family demonstrates their own great achievements through talent, discipline and perseverance – and they applaud other’s determination and passion as well. It is truly the Olympic/Paralympic spirit!

Hurray for Haydn

Tomoko’s first commercial album includes a piece by Haydn. It was a good starting choice for Tomoko.  Haydn laid the groundwork for so many musicians, just as Tomoko’s first CD album led to ten more CDs of her performances. Several points in Haydn’s life also resonate for Tomoko.

To start with, Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, which bordered onto Hungary. Tomoko and Desi wed in Austria, and Desi is Hungarian. 

Haydn’s family was musical. His father was a folk musician, and the family sang together. Tomoko’s father played the violin as a hobby, and Tomoko liked to sing. Tomoko’s brother played organ and piano, and Tomoko followed eagerly.

Haydn started his career as a freelance musician as did Tomoko. He was a music teacher, played the organ at a chapel, and was an accompanist. Likewise, as a high schoolers Tomoko accompanied singers, she taught piano early on, and she played the organ for the local Catholic church while in college. 

When Haydn was building his musical reputation, he gained aristocratic patronage. While studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of the board members paid Tomoko’s tuition at one point so she could continue her studies. 

Haydn’s concerts were very popular, as are Tomoko’s. Unlike Haydn though, Tomoko’s concerts include performances with others – as well as solo playing by her friends and students. 

While he lived in Vienna, one of Haydn’s friends was Mozart, and was very impressed with Mozart’s work. Tomoko too was very influenced by Mozart and it’s one of her favorite composers to perform. 

Later, Haydn met and taught a young Beethoven. Similarly, some of Tomoko’s students have become professional musicians and composers in their own right. As for Beethoven himself, Tomoko also considers him one of her favorite composers. 

No wonder that Tomoko is in harmony with Haydn.

Bravo for Bartók

One of Tomoko’s favorite composers to perform is Bela Bartók. In her CD “Touria” (available from Amazon), Bartók is the featured composers, showcasing six Rumanian folk dances frp, 1915, seventeen Hungarian and Slovak folk melodies, and “Allegro Barbaro” (1911).

Like Tomoko’s husband Desi, Bartók was born in Hungary (although Bartók’s town came under Romanian rule later on).  And like Desi, Bartók fled his country for America during war times. In Bartók’s case, his anti-Nazi sentiments endangered him. Nevertheless, Bartók always maintained a Hungarian spirit and sense of nationalism.

Bartók showed early musical talent, and gave his first public piano recital at age 11 in 1892 with his own composition, written two years earlier. Among his teachers was a pupil of Hungarian Franz Liszt. Later he was influenced by Richard Strauss and French composer Claude Debussy. In turn, Bartók taught Lili Kraus, one of Tomoko’s professional friends. 

Bartók’s compositions often built on folk music, particularly Rumanian folk dances. Bartók was not only a composer but also an ethnomusicologist, collecting and researching traditional Magyar folk melodies just as nationalism was blooming. Tomoko points out, “The folk inspiration fostered music that came from the heart, and yet how the composers built upon that folk music helped them express their own individuality.”

Bartók played “Allegro Barbaro” privately ten years before the published version of this short dance-like piece was performed publicly in 1921. Each of his pre-published performance was unique, changing speed as well as accents and dynamics. The piece’s title translates into “brisk barbarian”, which was an ironic reference to critics’ labelling of Bartók and his colleagues as young barbarians. Interestingly, the piece was based on Ravel’s “Scarbo.” The final rendition offers a unique counterbalancing of French and Hungarian folk melodies. The tonal pitch is constant, but the major, major and modal relations around it change. “Allegro Barbaro” has two themes, alternating between F# and F. The cadences are surprising, jagged, irregular but they still have chromatic motion. Even this this piece was written relatively early in his career, his compositional style was already mature.

It is no wonder that Tomoko appreciates Bartók: he brings cultural understanding to create an original compelling sound.  And Tomoko brings her own performance gifts to provide a unique experience for her own listeners.