Béla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist, considered to be one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, and regarded, along with Liszt, as his country's greatest composer...
's
compositionMusical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
for
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Mikrokosmos Sz. 107, BB 105 consists of 153 progressive pieces in six volumes written between 1926 and 1939. The individual pieces progress from very easy and simple beginner etudes to very difficult advanced technical displays, and are used in modern piano lessons and education. In total, according to Bartók, the piece "appears as a synthesis of all the musical and technical problems which were treated and in some case only partially solved in the previous piano works." Volumes one and two are dedicated to his son Péter, while volumes five and six are intended as professionally performable concert pieces.
Béla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist, considered to be one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, and regarded, along with Liszt, as his country's greatest composer...
's
compositionMusical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
for
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Mikrokosmos Sz. 107, BB 105 consists of 153 progressive pieces in six volumes written between 1926 and 1939. The individual pieces progress from very easy and simple beginner etudes to very difficult advanced technical displays, and are used in modern piano lessons and education. In total, according to Bartók, the piece "appears as a synthesis of all the musical and technical problems which were treated and in some case only partially solved in the previous piano works." Volumes one and two are dedicated to his son Péter, while volumes five and six are intended as professionally performable concert pieces.
- Volumes I-II: Pieces 1-36 and 37-66, beginner
- Volumes III-IV: Pieces 67-96 and 97-121, moderate to advanced
- Volumes V-VI: 122-139 and 140-153, professional
The opening (mm. 1-76) of "Boating" (VI, 125) is typical of the modernist compositional techniques used in the later volumes, featuring the
bimodalBimodality is the simultaneous use of two distinct pitch collections. It is more general than bitonality since the "scales" involved need not be traditional scales; if diatonic collections are involved, their pitch centers need not be the familiar major and minor-scale tonics. One example is the...
use of the
pentatonic collectionA pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the major scale. Pentatonic scales are very common and are found all over the world, including Celtic folk music, Hungarian folk music, West African music, African-American spirituals,...
on E♭ in the right hand and either G mixolydian or
dorianDue to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales.- Greek Dorian mode :...
collections in the left:
Volume VI contains the "Six Dances In Bulgarian Rhythm", dedicated to Miss
Harriet Cohen-Biography:She was born in London and studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music under Tobias Matthay, having won the Ada Lewis scholarship at the age of 12. She made her debut at a Chappell's Sunday concert at the Queen's Hall a year later...
. Bulgarian rhythm is one in which the beats in each bar are of unequal length. For example, the first dance (148) is grouped into 4+2+3
quaverthumb|180px|right|Figure 1. An eighth note with stem facing up, an eighth note with stem facing down, and an eighth rest.thumb|right|180px|Figure 2. Four eighth notes linked together....
s in each bar.
Pianists who have recorded all six volumes include
György SándorGyörgy Sándor was a Hungarian pianist, friend of Béla Bartók and champion of his music.Sándor was born in Budapest. He studied at the Liszt Academy in Budapest under Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, and debuted as a performer in 1930. He toured as a concert pianist through the 1930s, making his...
,
Homero FranceschHomero Francesch is a Uruguay-born Swiss pianist.He attended piano lessons under Santiago Baranda Reyes in Uruguay and in 1967 he was awarded a scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service...
,
Zoltán KocsisZoltán Kocsis is a Hungarian pianist, conductor, and composer.Born in Budapest, he started his musical studies at the age of five and continued them at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in 1963, studying piano and composition...
,
Jenő JandóJenő Jandó is a Hungarian pianist.He studied piano at the Liszt Academy with Katalin Nemes and Pál Kadosa, later going on to win many major international piano competitions, including the Georges Cziffra and Ciani Piano Competitions. However, his professional career really began when he took third...
and
Claude HelfferClaude Helffer was a French pianist noted particularly for his advocacy of 20th-century music.He was born in Paris, and began piano lessons at the age of five and from the age of ten until the outbreak of World War II he studied with Robert Casadesus...
.