Bartok wrote his Piano Concerto No.3 during the summer of 1945 intending it as a birthday present to his wife Ditta on 31st October. By this time he was already gravely ill; however he was able to finish the score with the exception of the last seventeen bars which he notated in a kind of musical shorthand. These last bars were later deciphered and scored by his pupil and friend Tibor Serly. This is a reduction for 2 Pianos four hands by Matyas Seiber.