Stravinsky and Bartók

Romanian composer George Enescu was greatly inspired by Romanian folk music and Romani music. This is particularly notable in Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, which is among his best loved and most performed pieces. Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1 from 1916 is considered one of the first solo concertos to break new ground in the development of music in the 20^th century, and is performed by Danish-Israeli violinist Nikolaj Znaider. Stravinsky’s symphonic poem Le Chant de Rossignol was inspired by his first opera which is based on H. C. Andersen’s story The Nightingale. Just like Enescu’s rhapsody, Bartók’s Dance Suite is inspired by folk music, here from Hungary and Wallachia in southern Romania for instance.