Margaret Thatcher's Favorite Composer

It is somewhat surprising to find that Béla Bartók was perhaps Margaret Thatcher's favorite composer. She had rather the reputation of not being very fond of culture, but apparently she frequently attended opera performances and went to summer music festivals in Germany and Austria. Norman Lebrecht has more. She was quite fond of Bartók, especially when conducted by Georg Solti. Let's listen to some:

That is really a remarkable piece. I have been of two minds about Bartók in recent years, but that reminds me how much I used to love his music. I think it might be a worthwhile project to have a closer look at the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.