Possibly the first autograph manuscript of a complete work by Bela Bartok ever seen at auction, a working manuscript for the complete score of the original version of his Second Rhapsody for Violin and Piano (BB96) was bid to £250,000 in a music sale held by Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium).
Containing many revisions and two distinct endings, the manuscript dates from 1928-29 and incorporates several passages cut from later versions.
A cornerstone of the violinist’s repertoire, it was one of two rhapsodies composed around the same time and intended for performance at his own concerts with the Hungarian violinists Josef Szigeti and Zoltan Szekely – the latter getting first choice and opting for the Second Rhapsody.