The story of Béla Bartók is not well known among people outside the world of classical music. Yet his tale is like something out of a movie.
A world-renowned composer, forced to flee Hungary from the impending face of fascism in the 1940’s, finds himself settled in a modest cabin in the woods along Saranac Lake. Amongst flowering maple trees, he spends the last summers of his life writing his final works, before succumbing to disease.
The life of Béla Bartók was harsh and poignant. Here we will trace his journey from the hills of Hungary to the safe haven he found in Upstate NY, which inspired his dying works.
Early Years in Hungary
Béla Bartók’s story starts thousands of miles away from the pristine lakes of Saranac Lake, NY. He was born in the town of Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary (present day Romania) in 1881.
His parents, both amateur musicians, encouraged Bartók’s own musical endeavors from an early age. His mother initially gave him piano lessons starting at the age of 5. Bartók was not naturally gifted, but rather a hard worker.
With apt dedication, he continued with his musical studies as a teenager and was even accepted into the prestigious Vienna Conservatoire. However, his love for his home of Hungary led him to study at the Budapest Academy of Music, where he eventually became a professor himself.
Both his nationalism and his love for education would be the tentpoles on which Bartók constructed his life.
The Father of Ethnomusicology
As Bartók leaned more into composing, he was inspired heavily on the traditional folk music of his country, as emphasized by his early works like Romanian Folk Dances, released in 1915.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Bartók grew in prominence internationally as he toured Europe and the world, often playing his own composed works on piano, given his instrumental prowess.
WIth the freedom this afforded him, Bartók began expanding and enveloping a range of world influences into his music, borrowing from cultures in North Africa and Transylvania. As a result, many consider Bartók a founding father of ethnomusicology.
Indeed, he would actively seek out and document volumes of songs and ethnic traditions from different cultures with the intention to learn and preserve these histories. He bravely sought out new sounds and traditions and applied them in new contexts.
Coming to America
In the late 30’s and early 40’s, Bartók’s life was increasingly derailed by the worsening political situation in Europe. Amidst the spread of fascism, Bartók fled to the United States and landed in New York City in 1940.
Despite the forced upheaval, his passion for the arts was not diminished. He became a professor at Columbia University. But the move took its toll. Financially and physically, Bartók became increasingly worse for wear.
He wrote, “I have been so upset by world events that my mind has been almost completely paralyzed.” During this time he also received few commissions and played very few shows. His health also began failing him.
He sought relief on the shores of Saranac Lake.
Summers in Saranac
For three summers between 1943-1945, Bartók resided in a modest cabin in Saranac Lake.
When he arrived Bartók was already sick with a form of leukemia that acted like tuberculosis. The cabin itself had long been a cure house, and Bartók needed a change from the dim and cramped apartments of New York City.
His son Peter later said, “he [Bartók] found the peace and tranquility suitable for composing [in Saranac]…. my father was obviously contented; his surroundings were as spartan as the interior of a Hungarian peasant cottage – a reminder of a world with such fond associations for him”
In many ways, it is apt that Bartók found himself on the shores of Saranac Lake. The Adirondacks are known for their own rich folk history. With its expansive wilderness and rural leanings, the mountains provided a perfect breeding ground for the diverse style of music that originated there. Adirondack music itself was greatly influenced by fellow immigrants, specifically the influx of Canadians and Irish immigrants who went to work in the iron mines and lumber camps in the early 19th century.
Ever the ethnomusicologist, Bartók incorporated these traditions into what would become his final works. As the Adirondack Almanac described it, “he integrated peasant melodies of Eastern Europe with the birdsong of the Adirondacks.”
In less than two months of residing at the cottage Bartók composed his Concerto for Orchestra.
It is worth noting Bartók’s continually strong adherence to traditional folk in his works was a direct reflection of his Hungarian Nationalism in the faces of powers that wished to transform his country. Even when he could not return home, his music reflected the sounds of his upbringing.
By the summer of 1945, Bartok and his family moved to a larger, 4 bedroom cabin in Saranac Lake. According to Historic Saranac Lake, Bartók described the cabin as “a small makeshift place” and “a hovel or hut.” It was very simply furnished “with two cots, a small table, chairs that are gone long ago,” and no piano
This was not a critique but rather praise coming from Bartók, who greatly valued the simplicity of his living situation and the closeness to nature.
A Lush Legacy
1945 proved to be the final year of Bartók’s life. That year also marked the end of World War II, although Bartók certainly would not have been able to return to his homeland, given his poor health.
However, in the final months of his life, Bartók devoted himself to his music, composing both the Third Piano Concerto and the Viola Concerto. The latter was started by Bartók in 1945 and left as sketches at his death, later completed by his student.
Bartók was 64 when he died. He was originally buried in Hartsdale, NY. He was later exhumed and brought back to homeland at Farkasréti Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary.
The organization Historic Saranac Lake has worked since 1995 to preserve both Bartók’s cabin and his story. The cabin was originally slated for demolition but saved by those who cherished its historical and local significance.
Despite its immense deterioration over the decades, funds were raised for reconstruction of the cabin. The building is now overseen by Historic Saranac Lake and is available for viewing by appointment.
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