Composed during the tense pre-war years of 1937-1938, Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz. 117 is written in the militaristic "verbunkos" style. This style developed in Hungary, and was no doubt employed by Bartók as an ironic gesture, as the worried composer observed the events of World War II unfolding around him. The first performance was given in Amsterdam in 1939, with its dedicatee, Zoltán Székely, as the soloist.

This edition for violin with piano reduction (by the composer) is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Difficulty: A6

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