Character: A hitherto unknown manuscript of a Bartók work was discovered

A previously unknown composition by Béla Bartók was discovered in the Ádám Bősze Music Antiques. He wrote the occasional piece on October 1, 1907, in response to a question sent by letter from his love, the violinist Stefi Geyer. On September 29, Geyer sent a tune to the composer asking whether “how would you harmonize this?”which actually means how you would dress up the stand-alone melody with additional notes.

Bartók briefly wrote at the beginning of the manuscript, “That’s right!”then followed the piece whose tempo designation Adagio moltoi.e very slowly. Below the first line, however, there is the continuation: con molto espressione, amorosotherefore with a deep expression, lovingly. There is no doubt that the young composer sent Stefi Geyer not just an answer, but a letter of musical love. This is evidenced by the four passages marked separately by Bartók, in which the so-called Geyer Stefi motif appears. As in the early violin concerto dedicated to the artist, this is a leading melody that also carries a message of love.

The incomparably valuable document was found at an auction in Spain, though mislabeled as a simple music album sheet. The antiquarian bought it in 2024, and has not shown it to the wider public since then. According to László Vikárius, head of the Bartók Archive in Budapest, there is no doubt about the authenticity of the unsigned manuscript, which – in his opinion – is an irreplaceable part of Hungarian cultural heritage.