Béla Bartók's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in E, Sz. 119, was written in 1945 when the composer was living in exile in the United States and suffering from the terminal stages of leukemia. Bartók intended to dedicate the concerto to his wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, who herself was a highly skilled pianist. When Bartók died on September 26 that year, the final movement of the concerto was still unfinished. His pupil, Tibor Serly, was responsible for completing the last seventeen bars. The premiere was finally given on February 8, 1946, featuring the soloist György Sandor and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Ormandy. Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a composer, pianist and collector of East European folk music. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Leukemia (leukaemia in Commonwealth English) is a group of blood diseases characterized by malignancies (cancer) of the blood-forming tissues. ... A piano concerto is a concerto for solo piano and orchestra. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... Tibór Sérly (1901-1978) was a Hungarian violist, violinist and composer. ... In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Philadelphia Orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the United States major orchestras and one of the finest in the world. ... Eugene Ormandy (November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a conductor and violinist. ...

The orchestral accompaniment is scored for strings, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, and percussion. A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... This article pertains to the musical instrument. ... Modern Oboe The Oboe is a musical instrument of the woodwind double reed family. ... A bass clarinet, which sounds an octave lower than the more common Bb soprano clarinet. ... Bassoon Playing range of a bassoon The bassoon is the tenor member of the woodwind family. ... The horn is a brass instrument that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... Trumpeter performing with the United States Air Forces in Europe Band The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the tuba, euphonium, trombone, sousaphone, and french horn. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ...

The concerto consists of three movements, which take just under 30 minutes to perform.

• Allegretto
• Adagio religioso
• Allegro vivace