Der wunderbare Mandarin op. 19

'In the Mandarin he finally breaks with the romantic tradition and also turns away from the artistic endeavours typical of the turn of the century. The pantomime refl ects for the fi rst time what Bartók had learnt from folk music, refined into a personal expression, an individual phraseology. He consciously settles a score with the ideology and the style of his youth.' - György Kroó