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Episode details

Radio 3,07 May 2026,59 mins

Series Bela Bartok (1881-1945)

Wooden Prince

Composer of the Week

Available for 7 days

The world plunges into war, with Bart贸k's Hungary at the centre. B茅la Bart贸k was regarded as one of Hungary鈥檚 greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him 鈥渙ne of the giants in the history of music.鈥 But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bart贸k found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions. In today's programme, as the world plunges into a war with Hungary right at the centre, Bart贸k finds his 鈥渓ife鈥檚 purpose鈥 of collecting folk songs challenged, to say the least. The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60 麻豆社 Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard Village Scenes, Sz. 79 Budapest Radio Choir Budapest Radio Orchestra, Gy枚rgy Lehel 5 songs Op. 15 Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano Ilona Prunyi, piano Hungarian Folksongs (5), for voice & orchestra, BB. 108, Sz. 101 Magdalena Ko啪en谩, mezzo-soprano Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle Produced by Alice McKee for 麻豆社 Audio Wales & West

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    The Wooden Prince, Sz.60 (excerpt)
    The Wooden Prince, Sz.60 (excerpt)
    B茅la Bart贸k
  3. 2.
    Village Scenes, Sz.79
    Village Scenes, Sz.79
    B茅la Bart贸k
  4. 3.
    Five Songs, Op.15
    Five Songs, Op.15
    B茅la Bart贸k
  5. 4.
    The Wooden Prince, Sz.60 (excerpt)
    The Wooden Prince, Sz.60 (excerpt)
    B茅la Bart贸k
  6. 5.
    The Song of the Prisoner, Sz.101, No.1
    The Song of the Prisoner, Sz.101, No.1
    B茅la Bart贸k