Hello everyone,

I have just heard my request for Bela Bartok's or strictly speaking
the Bartok/Serly Viola Concerto on Australia's ABC Classic FM Radio
which was broadcasted across all of Australia. The presenter Colin
Fox gave a good introduction, mentioning me by name. What I did not
know was that this year 2005 is the year of the viola and I think
this was why my request was broadcasted today and not on the
anniversary of Bartok's death on September 26th 2004. Colin
apologised for not being able to play my request on that day because
the programming had already been prepared.

Colin mentioned that the work was controversial because apparently
all that Tibor Serly had to go by to finish the work was a manuscript
of unnumbered pages with some of the script being very hard to read.
Colin also mentioned the letter that Bartok wrote to William
Primrose, two weeks before Bartok's death, stated that the work was
finished in draft form and all that Bartok had to do was what Bartok
called 'the mechanical bits'. Colin then mentioned that there could
be the proper draft of the work lying under newpapers etc waiting to
be discovered and he suggested that the work could be worth a lot of
money if found. The controversial nature of the viola concerto
has been fully discussed in previous posts.

The version played was the Berlin Philomonic Orchestra with Water
Christ on the viola and Seiji Ozawa conducting.

One more thing before I go is that I have an apology to make to the
group. I should not have writen any replies to the emails
of 'areyouinchrist'. It has now been pointed out to the group that it
is SPAM email pure and simple and the writer would not have read my
messages. I know that I am not the owner of the group but I fell into
the trap of conversing with this writer and I suggest we all ignor
his messages in future and delete them.

Happy New Year

Christine Gleeson
Sydney (Mt Druitt) Australia