Primitivism

Charlotte E. Antolan
What is PRIMITIVISTIC

Primitivistic music is tonal through

the asserting of one note as more
important than the others. New
sounds are synthesized from old
ones by juxtaposing two simple
events to create a more complex
new event.
Primitivism has links to Exoticism through
the use of materials from other cultures,
Nationalism through the use of materials
indigenous to specific countries, and
Ethnicism through the use of materials from
European ethnic groups. Two well-known
proponents of this style were Stravinsky and
Bela Bartok. It eventually evolved into Neo-
classicism.
BELA BARTOK (1881–1945)
Bela Bartok was born in Nagyszentmiklos,
Hungary (now Romania) on March 25, 1881, to
musical parents. He started piano lessons with his
mother and later entered Budapest RoyalAcademy
of Music in 1899. He was inspired by the
performance of Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach
Zarathustra to write his first nationalistic poem,
Kossuth in 1903. He was a concert pianist as he
travelled exploring the music of Hungarian
peasants.
• In 1906, with his fellow composer Kodaly, Bartok
published his first collection of 20 Hungarian folk
songs. For the next decade, although his music was
being badly received in his country, he continued to
explore Magyar folk songs. Later, he resumed his career
as a concert pianist, while composing several works for
his own use.
• As a neo-classicist, primitivist, and nationalist
composer, Bartok used Hungarian folk themes and
rhythms. He also utilized changing meters and strong
syncopations. His compositions were successful
because of their rich melodies and lively rhythms. He
admired the musical styles of Liszt, Strauss, Debussy,
and Stravinsky.