Unbeknownst to the beleaguered citizens of Europe, WWII is roaring to an end. Lebanon and Syria achieve independence, the 2-year Siege of Leningrad is finally lifted. Between New York City and Asheville, NC, Bela Bartók, ravaged by still-undiagnosed leukaemia, completes his Sonata for Solo Violin (Sz. 117, BB 124).

(I imagine him stuffing it into a manila envelope addressed to Mr. Yehudi Menuhin, gluing it shut, and strolling down to the mailbox on the street corner. This is what greets him at the newsstand where he stops for a stamp.)

New Yorker cover, March 1944 (c) the artist or publisher

Soon after, his native land, Hungary, is occupied by Germany.