Rumanian folk dances

When the Communist Party took power in Budapest in 1948, Hungarians found themselves locked in a real and intellectual “iron curtain”. Purges, arrests and executions multiplied. The art of the early 20th century was described by the new regime as “modernist formalism” and condemned. The musicians were compelled to adopt a new style of music that was “easy to understand and in a constantly upbeat mood”.

I had been among the first in Hungary (1942) to use dodecaphony. But for fear of sanctions, I stopped using it and, in order to support my family, I accepted many commissions for works based on popular themes. For my “Romanian folk dances”, of which I composed the first version for violin and piano in 1950, I used melodies found in Bartók’s collection.

For the flautist András Adorjan, I resumed my composition in 1988 by adapting the accompaniment for a string orchestra.

— Ferenc Farkas