On November 23, 1902, Bartók, then a student at the Budapest Academy, spent an afternoon with friends and the musical Aranyi family at their home. The best-known member of that family was the celebrated violinist Jelly Aranyi. Bartók wrote this piece for her younger sister, Adila, also a violinist and then only 15 years old. It came at a time when the composer had recently resumed composition after a two-year lapse. This short piece divulges none of the stylistic traits that would appear in Bartók's mature compositions. Rather, it is firmly etched in the Romantic tradition and features a mixture of the styles of Brahms and Schumann.

Despite its derivative nature, however, the work offers music of great beauty. The main theme, presented by the violin, is lovely in its floating serenity, in its Brahmsian majesty. The piano accompaniment is finely imagined throughout, but whenever the piano steps into the limelight—which is rare here—the violin turns timid and colorless in accompaniment. In the brief middle section, the theme takes on a fiery and passionate character, yielding a brilliant climax. The reprise is subdued, and the music ends quietly. Lasting just under four minutes, this lovely work will have appeal to general audiences, despite its lack of originality and other shortcomings.

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