Rhapsody No. 2 (Bartók)
Rhapsody No. 2, Sz. 89 and 90, BB 96, is the second of two virtuoso works for violin and piano, subsequently arranged with orchestra accompaniment, written by Béla Bartók. It was composed in 1928 and orchestrated in 1929. The orchestral version was revised in 1935, and the version with piano in 1945. It is dedicated to Hungarian violinist Zoltán Székely, who later became the first violinist of the Hungarian String Quartet in 1937, two years after the founding of the ensemble. Bartók evidently composed both rhapsodies purely as a personal gesture, rather than on commission, and did so without telling anyone until they were both completed . According to Székely, he and the composer met one day in 1928 and, after chatting for a time, Bartók suddenly announced that he had a surprise for him, and produced the manuscripts of the two rhapsodies, which no one else had previously seen. "One is for you; one is for Szigeti," Bartók told him. “You may choose which one you like for the dedication.” Székely chose the Second Rhapsody . Both of the rhapsodies exemplify a mode of composition using peasant-music sources, described by Bartók as taking an existing melody and adding an