Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)

Duo for Violin and Violoncello, op.7 (1914)

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I. Allegro serioso non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Maestoso e largamente, ma non troppo lento - Presto 

Kodaly - who played violin, viola and cello himself - was along with Bartok one of the creators of an art music based on folk sources, and Bartók himself described Kodaly's works as "the most perfect embodiment of the Hungarian spirit". According to Bartok "Kodaly's compositions are characterized by rich melodic invention and a perfect sense of form... His music is based on the principle of tonal balance. His idiom is new: he says things that have never been uttered before... and possesses striking individuality."

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Kodalys highly original duo for violin and cello is one of the few works for this combination of instruments. It may have served as inspiration for Ravels sonata for violin and violoncello written in 1922. The work did not receive its première until May 1918, when it was given by Waldbauer and Kerpely, the Budapest-based virtuosi whose string quartet had also premiered Bartok's and Kodaly’s first quartets.